We certainly didn’t expect it, but their VP of Product Development, Kyle Camp, gave us an all-access pass to see the entire operation from start to finish.  It was really incredible to see how it all happens.  Kyle even sat down and told us the whole “Rogers Story.”  We video taped it all, and broke it into sections below for easier viewing.

If you weren’t aware of effort that goes into making some of the best pieces of strength equipment in the world, these in-depth videos explain it all.

We don’t get a dime from Rogers, so we had no reason to expect anything from them and no ulterior motive to show you what a great operation they run.  We simply had the opportunity to see how they do things, and we were very impressed.

Many strength coaches never get the opportunity to see an operation like this, so these videos let you see the “inside.”

We hope you can put some faces with this great company and understand the culture that’s brewing in Clair, Michigan.

Do you know the benefits of the USC Elite Training Membership?  Click HERE to find out.

Your abs, hips, groin and low back work together to move and control the spine and pelvis.  A lot of articles, research and presentations have been done on how all of these muscles act synergistically to create and control movement.  Let’s take a look at the different functions your core performs.

Spinal Flexion/Pelvic Rotation – When the rectus abdominis contracts in isolation, it flexes the spine and posteriorly tilts the pelvis.  It basically does a crunch and/or hanging leg raise.  The obliques also assist in these motions.While we don’t perform these exact motions very often in sports, the movements are very easy to load.  You can develop a tremendous amount of strength with these motions, but they certainly shouldn’t be the only thing you do.

Some experts believe that spinal flexion is dangerous and should be avoided.  I’m not even going to get into that debate.  We just need to understand that it is a movement the abs control and it can be loaded as a strength exercise.  The decision whether to actually do it is another subject.

Also keep in mind that there is no such thing as upper and lower ab exercises.  When the rectus abdominis is contracted, the whole things contracts, not just part of it.  You may feel it more in one area of the other, but the whole thing is working.  You’ll feel it more on the end that is moving rather than the anchor end.  For example, you feel it more in your upper abs in a sit up because the upper abs are pulling the ribs in an effort to create the movement.  A hanging leg raise will give you the feeling you’re working your lower abs because that’s the part of the muscles that is moving your pelvis.

Spinal Rotation – While many muscles work synergistically to produce rotation, your obliques, quadratus lumborum and multifidus are the prime movers.  The rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, psoas, intertransverserii and rotatores also contribute.  It should be noted that controlling rotation is at least as important as creating it, and this stabilization will be discussed below.

Rotary movements can be resisted, but you have to be careful when you do this.  Adding too much of a load often leads to excessive sheer forces and the movements can be dangerous when they’re not controlled.  Because the hips and legs are often involved in real-life rotational movement, it is also difficult to isolate the muscles responsible this motion.

Spinal Extension – The erector spinae, multifidus, iliocostalis, interspinales and semispinalis are responsible for extending the spine.  In real-life movement, it is almost impossible to take the glutes and hamstrings out of this picture because they usually kick in to help move the pelvis as the lumbar spine extends.  Some experts don’t like extension exercises while others point to evidence that suggests it’s importance.  Again, rather than debate, we just need to understand that it is a movement that can be loaded to increase strength.

Lateral Bending – While standing, bending occurs mainly because of gravity.  When you’re on your side, several muscles kick in including the obliques, erector spinae, iliocostalis, intertransvererii and semispinalis.  It is typically a motion that needs to be controlled more so than created, so it is mainly addressed though stabilization exercises.

Stabilization – Every muscle that articulates the spine and pelvis is somewhat responsible for overall stabilization.  Stabilizing the spine and hips gives the arms and legs a base from which they can push and pull.  Stabilization includes posture and the ability to hold positions.  It often includes an anti-rotation component as well.  Because so many movements need to be resisted or controlled, this is where everything has to work together synergistically for maximum function.

It can get pretty complicated, but no matter how you look at it, or what you call it, the bottom line is this – if you want to perform well, you gotta have strong “abs” if you want to create and control movement.

Most of these movements don’t occur exclusive to the others, and none of these muscles ever acts all by itself like we hear in anatomy class.  In human movement, we usually see a combination of two or more of these motions.  Don’t make the mistake of trying to mimic sports movements in the weight room, but it’s great to combine the motions as you’ll see in this program.  Working one motion in the weight room will not ruin the synergistic relationship the muscles have during human movement.

Typically, I create programs that address multiple planes of motion and functions, but sometimes I just like to train the abs HARD with difficult exercises.  If you like training hard – and smart –  try this routine:

This video demonstrates all of the exercises.

Hanging Leg Raises – Hang from a bar and pull your feet to your hands.  If you can’t get your feet all the way up, try bringing your knees to your elbows.  If you can’t do that, well….you’re probably not going to like the rest of the workout either.

Plank Rows – Attach a band or tube to something low to the ground.  Get in a plank position with your feet wider than normal.  Take one arm off the ground and grab the band with your arm fully extended in front of you (over your head in this case).  Pull the band to your shoulder and slowly return to the starting position.  Keep your hips parallel to the ground without rotating.  That’s the hardest part.  This one looks easy, but don’t sleep on it.

One-arm Decline KB Sit-Ups – You may not like sit-ups or flexion exercises.  I don’t really care – just give this a try.  On a decline sit-up bench, hold a KB in one hand with your arm locked out in front of you.  Sit up and raise the KB as high as possible.  Do an even number of reps on each site.

Ball Rollout & Pike – Get in a push up position with your hands on the ground and feet on a stability ball.  Leave your hands in place, keep your body in a straight line and push your feet backwards as far as you can.  Next, pull your feet back and raise your hips in the air as high as possible while keeping your legs straight.  Return to the start position and repeat.

Back Extension with Anti-Rotation – You may or may not like back extensions.  Again, just try it.  Do a back extension while holding a band at arms-length that is attached to something at your side (or have a partner hold it).  Keep your legs straight and only rise up to parallel to the ground.  Control your speed and do an equal number of reps on each side.

Rockers – You need a partner for this one, but I hear time and again that this exercise produces the strongest ab contraction people have ever felt.  It’s worth finding a partner.  Lay on your back with your knees up and your hands behind your head.  Pull your elbows to your knees and hold them against each other.  This is the start position.  Hold that position while a partner pulls your feet away from you.  Keep your elbows against your knees and your shoulders/upper back will “rock” off the ground.  Hold the top position, then slowly lower back to the start position.   Always keep your elbows against your knees to maintain the contraction throughout the set.

Obviously, if any of these exercises causes pain, don’t do them.  If you’re not strong enough to do them, don’t tell anybody, and just work your way up to performing each one correctly.

Push hard to do as many reps as you can of each exercise, and only rest about 30 seconds between exercises.  You should shoot for at least 10 reps of each exercise, but you may not be able to do that for all of these.  In 6-10 minutes, you’ll fry your abs.  If you’re a beast, or took too much pre-workout, feel free to go through the routine twice, but once is more than enough for most people.

Enjoy this difficult “ab workout.” I look forward to hearing how it felt.

Jim Kielbaso MS, CSCS is the Director of the Total Performance Training Centers and is a co-founder of UltimateStrengthAndConditioning.com.  He has written three books and speed and strength development and has produced multiple video products related to speed training.

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I love new exercise variations.  I love learning new methods.  I love new technology.  It’s fun for me to watch new trends come and go, and I enjoy trying to predict what’s coming.

Over the past year, however, it’s been hammered home time and time again that practicality is one of the most important – and neglected -  factors to consider in programming.  This is especially true when working with groups, which I do a lot.  You can design the greatest program in the world, but if it isn’t practical – if it can’t be implemented – it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.

Here is an example.  I’ve had a few young coaches contact me about looking at their programs for high school teams before they implement them.  I’ll see stuff like this:

Power Clean 5 x 5 

Front Squat 5 x 5

RDL 5 x 5

Bench Press 5 x 5

Barbell Row 5 x 5

Machine Front Neck 2 x 10

Machine Back Neck 2 x 10

At first it looks OK, but things start to look a lot different when I find out there will be 40 guys in the weight room and there are three racks, five barbells and one neck machine.  There’s going to be a line out the door waiting for a barbell or the neck machine.  It’s going to take two hours to get through a workout that should take 45 minutes.  It’s not practical.  It’s going to be a mess and the coach is going to look like a total amateur.

I also look at that workout and think about where the coaching energy is going to be placed.  I would consider every one of these a “high coaching-demand” exercise.  High school kids are going to butcher most of them, so you’re going to be running around trying to correct poor form all day.  You’ll have no time to help them understand how to progressively overload each movement or motivate the kids.  It’s a recipe for disaster and will become a complete cluster.  It’s an example of a good program that’s not practical.

Early in my career, I always wanted to come up with new stuff and show off my creativity.  I prided myself on being able to come up with a great workout no matter where I was.  While I still think that’s important, this year (as I get older and older) I’m more drawn to fundamentals than ever.  I see so many young coaches trying to make their mark on this field by coming up with something new instead of mastering fundamentals.  What I’ve learned is that, without mastering the fundamentals, there is no basis for innovation.  It’s almost like saying “I’m not very good at the basics, so I’ll come up with something different so nobody will notice.”

I don’t need 50 variations for every movement.  I need a couple and I need to understand the most important concept in strength training – systematic & progressive overload.  Pick a movement, and get stronger with it.

The basics are not broken.  They never were.  We’ve just become so used to being entertained, that we’re constantly looking for something new.  Our athletes aren’t bored.  We are.  And, who cares about us?  We’re not the focus of the training – our clients are.

If you and your athletes aren’t exceptional at the fundamentals, take a step back and think about what you’re doing.  You owe it to yourself and your clients to help them develop a sound foundation before moving on to new tricks.

In my world the most important program equation now looks like this:

Practical = Functional

Jim Kielbaso

Keep coming back to Ultimate S & C for the best strength and conditioning info on the net.

If you’ve been trying to put on size and weight, I hope you’re at your biggest right now.  If you’ve been watching your weight increase steadily during the off-season, you’re at risk for losing it once the season begins.  Most high school football players begin to lose size and strength during two-a-days because you aren’t lifting weights (at least not as hard as you were over the summer) and, more importantly, you probably aren’t eating as much as you need. It’s the same for every other sport, too.  Hockey and basketball players start burning calories like crazy during the first few weeks of intense practice, and your weight starts to drop.

Let me assure you that this does not necessarily need to happen.  It’s not that difficult to  maintain your size and strength throughout the season, and it’s even possible to make gains if you’re serious about gaining weight.  Just think about how great it would feel to be at your biggest and strongest at the end of the season when it counts the most.  Instead, most athletes look in the mirror late in the season and can’t believe what has happened.  It’s really not uncommon to drop 15 pounds over the course of a season, which would definitely make you look and feel different – not what you want if it’s important for you to gain weight.

Lifting During the Season

The first thing you should do to maintain your weight is continue to lift weights twice a week during the season.  Your lifts don’t have to be long, but you need to get it done.  I recommend lifting on Monday & Wednesday or Sunday & Tuesday if most of your games are on Fridays and Saturdays.  A Thursday game may change your plans slightly, but that shouldn’t be very difficult to work around.  Just change that week’s schedule so you’re not lifting the day before a game.

If you play a sport that has multiple competitions each week, just try not to do your hardest lifting the day before a game.  It’s completely fine to lift the day before a game, but you’ll be able to work harder if you have a day to recover before competition.  Keep in mind that you’re trying to make progress, so you’ll need to train through some competitions, especially early in the season.

Most people are concerned about being really sore or tired from lifting, and they don’t want it to affect their game performance.  As long as you continue lifting consistently, this will not be an issue.  Consistency is the key to this process.

The problems occur when you take 3-4 weeks off, then hit the weights hard the day before a game.  You’ll definitely be sore because your body isn’t used to it anymore.  Any new stress will cause this kind of response, but lifting consistently will help you avoid this problem.

I recommend doing a relatively heavy training session with low reps one day a week, preferably not the day before a game, and a lighter session with higher reps on days closer to a competition.  Both days will be total-body lifts that last 30-40 minutes, so you don’t need a ton of time.  On the heavy day, you’ll be doing 2-4 sets of 3-6 reps per exercise, using 80-85% of your 1RM weight on multi-joint exercises like bench press, squats, trap bar squats and rows.  You’ll need to establish your 1RM early in the season so you know your capabilities.  Don’t take these sets to failure and take plenty of rest between sets so you never feel completely fatigued.  A gradual increase in the number of reps or the weight is also recommended.

For example, your first two weeks should include sets of 3-4 reps with approximately 80% of your 1RM.  Weeks 3-4 should be 4-6 reps with 80%.  After week 5, move up to 85% and go back down to 3-4 reps for a couple of weeks.  By week 8, you should be doing 2-3 sets of 4-6 reps with 85% of your summer max weight.  That should be difficult, but still very doable.  You won’t get sore or overly fatigued from this because you’ll be lifting consistently, gradually building up to this point.  If you’re able to do 4-6 reps with 85% of your max 8-10 weeks into your season, you’ve done an excellent job of maintaining your strength.  There’s a good chance you’ve even gotten stronger if you’ve pushed yourself.  If you’re season is longer than 2-3 months, just complete each cycle for 3-4 weeks instead of two weeks as listed above.  Also be sure to hit your lower body hard on these “heavy” days because the second day will focus on the upper body.

On the second day of each week (closer to competition), include a single-leg strength exercise like single-leg squats or single-leg leg press and a hamstring exercise like a glute/ham raise, RDL, ball leg curl or Nordic Hamstrings.  Do 2 sets of 8-12 reps and that’s it for lower body.  Focus the rest of this session on upper body strength training, using rep ranges of 6-12 and doing 1-3 sets per body part.  Take each set to near failure, but keep the volume low.  Feel free to include extra arm work on Wednesdays to keep your guns blown up.

Eating for Size

Because you utilize so much energy practicing every day, it’s even more important to increase your food intake during the season if you’re trying to gain weight.  Three simple in-season eating tips are:

1. Start the day right with a quality breakfast.  I often hear people tell me they’re not hungry in the morning, so they don’t each much for breakfast.  This is an excuse.  You’re not hungry because you’re not used to eating in the morning.  You might have to force yourself to eat more in the morning for a while, but you’ll start getting used to it.  Eventually, you’ll wake up hungry and it will be much easier to put on weight.  Most guys get up late and eat something very small for breakfast if they eat anything at all.  Why not wake up 15 minutes earlier so you can take full advantage of breakfast?  It just makes sense to get a jump on your goal every morning.  Try these ideas:  Scramble 3-4 eggs with cheese and some cut up veggies and throw it on a bagel with an extra slice of your favorite cheese.  Pour a large bowl of cereal and have a piece of toast with peanut butter and a glass of juice.  Try a big bowl of oatmeal with walnuts, fresh fruit and a big glass of milk.  Blend up a shake with protein powder, frozen fruit, milk or yogurt and grab a bagel to go.  All of these breakfasts will start the day off in a way that will help maintain your weight and give you energy for your sport.
2. Snack before practice.  The time between lunch and dinner is often a problem if you’re trying to gain weight, especially if you have sport practice right after school.  After school is an excellent time to eat a quick snack.  Throw a meal replacement bar or PBJ in your backpack so you it’s ready right after school.  You could also try a bagel, a meal replacement shake or a piece of fresh fruit.  If you have a refrigerator available at school, or time to go home, the possibilities are obviously unlimited.
3. Have a bedtime snack.  One of the easiest ways to help put on weight in-season is to throw down a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a cold glass of milk.  You might want to try substituting the jelly with a sliced up banana or some honey.  If you’re not into PBJ, you could have a piece of pizza, a bowl of cereal or a fruit smoothie with some protein powder.  The point here is to eat something that has a good combination of protein, carbohydrates and fats.

Of course, you still have to eat a quality (and large) lunch and dinner and drink plenty of fluids, but taking advantage of the tips above will make it a lot easier to maintain, or even put on weight during the season.

Learn more about how to gain weight

The member explained the situation to me, asked for some advice, and I here is how I responded:

“First, I would explain to him that you can’t copy a college program because you don’t have the staff, equipment or athletes to do it at the high school level.  Second, seeing a 5 minute video doesn’t really give you a complete understanding of a college program.  Just say that you’re taking things from several colleges and list the ones he wants to hear – Penn State, LSU, Alabama, etc.  And, if he wants you to run it like Penn State, ask if he’s going to give you everything it takes to run it like Penn State?  Will he have 5 more coaches there every day?  Can you demand 100% participation from a kid or he’s kicked off the team?  Can you dog-cuss kids left and right if they’re not doing exactly what you say?  Can you train them all in small groups instead of all at once before/after school?  Will he stand behind you no matter what?  Can he tell the parents not to ever talk to you so you can focus on doing your job?  Can you spend $500,000 on equipment?  Will there be ATCs present at every conditioning session in case kids go down?

That’s what Penn State has available.  I’m guessing you don’t.  You’re high school program just isn’t going to be a college program.  More importantly, it doesn’t have to be.

Tell him that you’re going to create a team-wide program, then individualize from there.  There is no need to create a completely different strength program for every kid.  These are high school athletes.  They need BASICS.  So, you create a “workout template” then make adjustments for any kids who need it.  Most kids will be just fine with a basic program, but you have to play politics and say the right things.

Instead of doing complete individual assessments on every kid, you might want to start with some basic strength testing.  You can get predicted maxes on a couple of lifts, maybe max chin ups, get numbers on vertical or broad jump, 40s, shuttles, etc. so you have baseline numbers.  You want to be able to document progress, so you need to test them periodically to show that your program is working.

The reality of a high school program is that you have to get the biggest “bang for your buck” and hope for as much support from your coaches and parents as possible.  Anyone who has coached in both college and high school should understand the differences.  I hope this helps.  Feel free to forward it to your football coach if you think it will help.”

The strength coach had a talk with his football coach, and talked him down from the ledge.  It turns out the football coach is stressed because he feels like his job is on the line, and he wants to make sure the kids are getting stronger.  The talk this strength coach had with him reassured the football coach that things are going to be OK and that the program is going to work.  Sometimes, we just have to talk stressed out coaches down so they understand we’re on their team, and we want to win just as badly as they do.  A conversation like that can go a long way to establishing a relationship with a sport coach, and I think this strength coach has done just that.  Once this relationship is established, everyone can work together toward the goal of helping the kids reach their true potential.  Ultimately, that’s what this is all about.

This is a great interview where he talks about why he got into S & C and some of the keys to running a successful program.  This is the kind of video everyone in the field needs to watch.

Keep coming back to Ultimate S & C for the best strength and conditioning information anywhere.

The first thing you’ll need to do is find your 1 rep max. It’s not up to me how you do this. You can use an estimated 1 rep max formula or figure out how much you can press 1 time. However, it MUST be what you can do right now. Don’t think about what you used to press or what you think you can press. Take the time to figure it out the right way.

Ok, so you have your 1 RM. Now, take 70% of that, and that is your beginning weight for this bench press program.  I know it doesn’t seem heavy enough, just be patient.

For each bench press workout, be sure to warm-up. Again, I’m leaving this up to you.  When the weight is heavier certain weeks, I’d be progressive with the warm-up for a couple sets. Then, begin your working sets.

This is how to use your workout sheet….

Week 1: Begin with your 70% weight for your set of 10, do 10 reps. Use the same weight for your set of 8. Use the same weight for your set of 6 and on this set do as many reps as you can.  If you reach 6, record a + and increase your weight 5 lbs. for the next week. If you reach 5 reps, give yourself an = and stay with that weight for the next week. If you get buried, give yourself a – and go down 5 lbs. for the next week.

Week 2: Use the same protocol you used the previous week. Obviously, the working weight should be different.  Make the appropriate recordings (increase, decrease, stay same) based upon your performance.

Week 3: This week is 3 x 5 with weight determined by your previous week (You should be 5 lbs. more, less, or the same). Be sure to perform as many reps as you can on the last set and record the results. Just like before, if you reach 5 + on your last set, increase weight 5 lbs. for the next week.

Week 4: Use the same protocol you used the previous week. Make the appropriate recordings based upon your performance.

Week 5: This week is 5 x 3. If you’re making progress and increasing weight each week appropriately, this should be your heaviest working weight of the 6 weeks so far.  If you achieve 3 or more reps on that last set, increase weight appropriately for that last week.

Week 6: This is when you get to calculate your new max. If you kicked ass and followed instructions, you’ll have a heavier max. Follow the 3 x 3 sets and reps. For that last set, do as many reps as you can and put those numbers into the formula below to find your new estimated 1 RM.

Estimated 1 RM Formula: Wt. X Reps X .0333 + Wt. = New Max

Click here for the 6 Week Bench Press Program 

Train Hard and Smart,

Adam Stoyanoff

We often hear about metabolic conditioning, but it’s often used as a general term for anything related to fitness.  This is an example of how you can mix training methods such as agility, strength work, plyometrics and more into courses that also bring out competitiveness in athletes.

Not every athlete will want to compete against others, but they can compete against themselves to measure improvement.  Testing does not always have to be traditional, and this course is an example of something that could be set up again and again so that athletes can attempt to beat their previous best time.

You’ll find that athletes enjoy obstacle courses and challenges and often want to do it again because they feel like they can do even better.  It’s a great phenomenon that you, as a coach, can use as a teaching moment.  Often, athletes will perform better the second time through something like this, even though they are exhausted.  Point out how important mindset is in sport, and how this is an example of their ability to get through physical discomfort when they are truly focused.

The actual course is not as important as the general concept of using multiple methods to improve work capacity.

WORKOUT

Zig Zag Sled Push with 180 lbs

Wall Ball Throws 20 lbs 10 reps

Zig Zag Sled Push with 180 lbs

Log Bar Curl and Press 8 reps (bar is around 105 lbs)

30 yard sprint jumping over a few hurdles

You can do this for time and even repeat it 2 or 3 times with about 3-5 minutes rest between sets.

I can’t tell you how often I hear people tell me that what they’re doing just isn’t working.  The best way for me to figure out what isn’t working is to ask questions.   When asked about their training goals, most people – even many competitive athletes – admit that looking good is the root of their motivation to work hard.  Athletes also need to move well, but be honest with yourself – would you spend all that time working out if it didn’t change your appearance?  Sure, you may enjoy putting up big numbers and being in good shape, but the truth is you probably want to look good.

Of course, if you’re a competitive strength athlete and really don’t care how you look or move, feel free to stop reading.  I respect you and you’re sport.  Strength-based competitions are grueling and require tremendous focus and dedication.  I’ve also learned that most strength athletes don’t want to look and move like complete slobs.  The days of the fat-ass strongman are gone.  Even heavyweight powerlifters like to look decent these days.  Just look at Pudzianowski or Kroc.

It’s why most people train, why we eat well and why we constantly read and talk about training strategies.  So, where do we go for that information?  Again, be honest with yourself.  Most people either turn to the internet or ask the biggest guy at the gym.

I thought we were well past turning to the “big guy” for advice, but apparently we’re not.  It happens all the time, even though we know full-well that the biggest guys in the gym are often that way despite the way they’re training.  God blesses some people with “big” genetics; these guys grow just looking at weights.  Others are blessed with “fast” genes, “coordinated” genes, “endurance” genes, “ripped” genes, etc. but people listen to “the big guy” so often that one of my trainers thought about taking steroids just so more people would listen to him.  While it sounds ridiculous, you know it’s kind of true….sad….but true.

The internet contains a tremendous amount of information, and it’s the first place most people turn when they want answers.  Sites like T-Nation offer information-hungry lifters more knowledge than we would have dreamed possible 20 years ago.  Unfortunately, it is also a haven for charlatans and snake oil salesmen because there is no one there to check them; the truth is optional on the internet.  People can pretty much say whatever they want, so the truth can be skewed quite a bit.  Depending on who you turn to, you’ll either get a golden nugget of information or a handful of turds.

You also have to learn how to ask the right questions.  This is true both on the internet and in real life.  I’ve found that the best way to get to the bottom of a situation, or glean the most valuable information, is through asking the right questions, especially follow-up questions.  Information can often be mis-leading when you don’t ask the right questions of the right people.

So, I like to ask people questions when they tell me they aren’t getting the results they’d really like.  Here is an example of one of those conversations:

Me:  What is your goal?

Client:  I want to look and move like an athlete.  I guess I want to get stronger, but I really want to look like Vernon Davis, AJ Hawk, Dwight Howard or any competitive gymnast (for the record, I’ve never had anyone tell me that they want to look like an offensive lineman or fat-ass heavyweight powerlifter – no offense guys).

Me:  OK, so what have you been doing?

Client:  I’m doing (insert popular powerlifting program or steroid influenced routine found in a magazine).

Me:  What’s your diet like?

Client:  I’m in my bulking phase and eating 4000 Kcals and 300 grams of protein each day.

Me:  Are you doing any kind of conditioning work or athletic activity?

Client:  I usually warm up on a bike for 10 minutes before I lift.

Me:  And, what was your goal again?

Client:  I want to look and move like a jacked-up athlete.

Me:  I think I can help.

Let’s be clear about this – If you want to move or look like an athlete, you need to train like an athlete.  I’m not talking about a strength athlete.  I’m talking about more traditional, movement-based sports like football, basketball, or hockey players.  And, I don’t know any athletes that train like strength athletes.  It’s just not what they do.  They may use little bits here and there, but you’re not going to find the guys mentioned above training like a strength athlete.  It’s just totally different.

Again, if you’re a competitive strength athlete, God bless you.  These are difficult sports that require a tremendous amount of time, energy and dedication.  But, if you want to look and move like an athlete, and aren’t going to enter any strength competitions, then why are you training like you are?

I’ve been training competitive athletes full-time for nearly 20 years, and not one of them has ever been concerned with their powerlifting numbers.  Most of them wouldn’t even know what a “raw” deadlift is or even give a rat’s ass.  Contrary to what you might think, I don’t know a single NFL, NBA, NHL or MLB strength coach who worries about powerlifting numbers.  Sure, developing strength is always the goal, and powerlifting techniques are employed, but the training is very different.

Over the past few years, powerlifting routines and programs have gained popularity online.  Plenty of powerlifting coaches have created online programs for lifting heavy weights.  These programs are great for putting up big numbers; that’s what they’re designed to do, and they work.  But, like I said before, this is not how most athletes train, and if you want to look like an athlete, you need to train like one.  Sure, athletes lift heavy weights, but that’s a very small part of what they do.  Not everyone wants to be a powerlifter, and that’s OK.  You don’t have to.  In fact, most people aren’t ever going to enter a meet, yet they continue to train like it.  Take the burden off your shoulders – you don’t HAVE to powerlift.

Unfortunately, not nearly as many strength & conditioning coaches (I mean coaches who actually train competitive athletes every day) write articles and sell programs online.  So, it makes sense that people find the powerlifting information and follow the routines.

In addition to lifting heavy weights, athletes also lift lighter weights.  They rarely do single body part routines.  They use lots of different equipment.  They train at a fairly high pace.  They work their entire body.  They also do plenty of speed work, plyos and conditioning that keeps their body fat low and keeps them moving like cats.  The combination of this work and quality nutrition give athletes the lean look and dynamic movement qualities so many people want.

I’m sure some of you are thinking “my big lift numbers are going to suffer if I do all that extra work.”  At some point, you have to prioritize.  Do you only want to put up big numbers or do you want to look and feel like a chiseled athlete?

Here’s the thing – unless you’re in a powerlifting meet, nobody really cares what your numbers are.  You can post them on your Facebook page or tweet about your most recent PR, but nobody is really impressed unless you’re setting records.  When you take your shirt off at the beach, nobody is going to say “That guy looks kind of out of shape, but I bet he can pull a lot of weight off the floor.”  You can think it happens, but it doesn’t.

If you want to look great, getting some conditioning in is totally worth the slight dip your powerlifting numbers might take.  You need to ask yourself “Would I rather squat 500 pounds and move/look like a superhero or squat 550 and still look out of shape?”  If you truly don’t care what you look like, and just want to lift heavy weights, I’m 100% cool with that because you’re probably a legit strength athlete.  That’s awesome.  But, if you keep coming back to this site, and aren’t going to be entering any strength-based competitions, I have a feeling you care about what you look like.

Below is a typical program that an athlete would follow.  I’ve actually used this template for many collegiate and professional athletes.  Record your reps & weight, and increase the weight when you can get all of the reps indicated with the same weight.  You might not be able to do all of the reps on each exercise, so just try to improve by one rep on one set each workout.  For example, on the 5 x 5 bench press day, you may use 250 pounds and get 5, 5, 5, 4, 3.  Just record it, and the next time try to get 5, 5, 5, 4, 4.  The next time get 5, 5, 5, 5, 4 and continue until you get all five sets of 5.  At that point, increase the weight the smallest amount possible and keep moving forward.  I didn’t include any warm-up sets, but make sure you’re always prepared for heavy weight.

Click Here for Monday and Tuesday

Click here for Thursday and Friday

The speed, agility, plyos and conditioning options are below. How you implement these are ultimately up to you.  The sky’s the limit, and we’re offering a general outline or template to follow in order with the lifting.

Monday

30 minutes of speed work (Take 1:00 break between sets)

6 x 10 yards – 2 warm-up, 4 all out

4 x 10 – Sled Starts (use 15% of your bodyweight)

4 x 20 yards

Tuesday

20 minutes of Plyometrics (Take 30-60 seconds break between sets)

2 x 10 Ankle Flip Jumps

3 x 10 – 1-leg 6” Box Jumps

3 x 5 – Squat Jumps

3 x 3 – 2-leg Frog Hops

3 x 3 – 1-leg Frog Hops

Thursday

20 minutes of agility work (Take

4 x 20 yard Pro-Shuttles each way

Zig-Zags and Cone Drills with variations

Friday

15-20 Minutes of Anaerobic Conditioning

3 x 300 yard shuttles (3 minutes rest between reps)

Or

2 x Tabata Sets (:20 work, :10 sec rest x 8) on Treadmill, start at 8.0 MPH @ 5% Incline

When you can finish at this pace, increase the speed .5 MPH

The speed, agility, plyos and conditioning work can vary each week, so feel free to change it up to keep things interesting.  Just get the work in.  Also, be sure to go through a complete warm-up before each workout to prepare your body for what’s about to happen.

You’ll notice that it’s an upper/lower split with Monday & Tuesday being heavier “strength” days and Thursday & Friday higher rep “hypertrophy” or “dummy swole” days.  This is a variation of undulating periodization that takes advantage of both heavy and light work each week.  You get the benefits of high-tension work and high time-under-tension work that breaks down more protein and forces protein re-synthesis.  This also allows for plenty of recovery and will give you the benefits of both increasing your size and strength.

You might not be used to the conditioning and speed work, so it may blow you out the first couple of weeks and make it harder to lift.  Don’t worry, you’ll get into shape quickly and love the benefits you’ll see.  Decrease the volume of work a little at the beginning if it’s too much for you.

If you’re used to working out 6-7 days a week, just enjoy having a life.  Spend some time with your wife or girlfriend.  Re-introduce yourself to your children you’ve lost time with because you’ve been at the gym.  Enjoy some time with friends or doing something fun.

Each workout takes about 90-120 minutes, so you’re getting plenty of work done.  Keep the pace high during the lifting so you’re not wasting time.  You’ll see I use a lot of super-sets and giant-sets to keep you moving.  Yes, this kind of training is hard, but like I said before, if you want to look like an athlete, you have to train like one.

Make sure you’re also eating like an athlete.  Properly fuel your body before a workout, and replenish yourself afterward.  Make quality choices and consume the proper number of calories.  There is plenty of information available on nutrition, so take advantage of it.

When you’re ready, give this program a try for 2-3 months.  You’re going to feel explosive, athletic, strong and jacked up.  Don’t quit after the first week, though.  Put your time in and start looking and feeling like an athlete.

Jim Kielbaso MS, CSCS

Keep coming back to Ultimate S & C for the best strength and conditioning information on the internet.

Recently a youth football organization contacted Jim and I about putting together a speed and conditioning program for their kids to do this summer.  When we initially sat down and thought about it we wanted to make a program that built upon itself every week increasing in intensity, similar to what you would see in a college strength and conditioning manual.

We then thought about it some more and realized these kids are between the ages of 8 and 13 years old.  At this age they don’t need a program that is constantly changing, they need a program that they can physically and mentally learn, complete and do consistently.

So we made a program that has three different days for the athletes to complete with some core work and plyos to get done each day.  The workout if done right will take about 30-45 minutes to complete which is not asking too much of the kids to do.  This program can also be done almost anywhere so when on summer vacations the kids can still find a small area to get it done.

If they start program in the middle of June when most kids get out school they would do each day 7 times before football starts first or second week of August.  If they do the work hard and can get some help with any mechanic flaws they may have they will be in great shape and also see some speed improvements.

Click here for the program Youth Summer Speed/Conditioning Program

-Frank Wozny is a co-founder of UltimateStrengthAndConditioning.com.  He specializes in metabolic conditioning and the development of optimal programs for athletic teams.

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