Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Football Season

I'm in the middle of football season right now, that's why I haven't had much time to update here.
Being slightly injured from my last game, I've taken my time this week to create what is sort of a preview for what will ultimately be my Football Highlight-reel.



There you have it. Oh, and as far as my injury goes: it looks something like this.



Just a bruise though, no ligament damage.
Lagt inn av kl.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

How many sets?

I guess I gotta start writing stuff not fully covered under the basic setup underneath here.
This is supposed to be a blog after all.

People ask me: how many sets am I supposed to do on my Limit days?
Well, all sets that progressively go up to your max lift(s) are considered warm-ups. You do as many as you feel necessary. A general rule of thumb is to do sets of 3 repetitions until it becomes fairly heavy, and then progress to doing sets of single repetitions until you reach your maximum. During the first mesocycle where you aim for a 3-5RM you just increase the weight until 3-5 reps is your maximum for that weight.
This is supposed to be heavy, it is supposed to be a Repetition Max for said weight, wether it be a 1RM or a 3RM. So the answer to how many sets you're supposed to do is simple: as many as it takes to reach your max. A maximum lift is a maximum lift. If your last lift was so heavy that your eyes nearly popped out of your skull, you're done.
If you're doing back squats for one of your limit days, it could look something like this written down in your training log:

Back Squat (warmup to 180kgs)
180kgs/3
190kgs/1
200kgs/1 Easy
210kgs/1 Heavy, but okay
215kgs/1 Max lift, I strained so much that my nose started to bleed

Trying to do any more lifting at the same weight would only prove as counterproductive in the long run.
You're not done yet, you still have lots of assistance exercises to do.
Lagt inn av kl.
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The Basic Template

BASIC TEMPLATE


This is the concept, you'll be doing 2 weight sessions with a Limit Strength focus a week, and 2 sessions with a Speed Strength focus to begin with. This method of training can be very taxing to both your muscles and your nervous system, so it is highly recommended for you to be fairly experienced with intense weight training beforehand as well as having sound nutrition and good post-workout recovery habits.





LIMIT
Work your way up to a 1 or 2 Rep Max with ONE of these chosen exercises for each of the two weekly sessions. During your first mesocycle you will however focus on 3-5 Rep Maxes. Start every training session warming up with 2-4 reps, progressively increasing the weight until it becomes so heavy that you have to progress over to single or double lifts. In the case of 3-5 RM lifting during your first mesocycle you simply lift until your last 3rd, 4th or 5th repetition is your maximum effort. The main staple for this type of lifting is lifting until you're at your maximum weight for the given exercise, though. So the first mesocycle can be looked upon as sort of a preparation for the 1-2RM lifting. For every 1-3 weeks, you will switch exercises so that you prevent stagnation followed by overtraining of your Central/Peripheral Nervous System.

These training sessions maximize your limit strength; the amount of muscoskeletal force you can generate in an all-out effort.

Day 1 - LB (Lower Body)

  • Squats >
    Back squat, front squat, box squats (1 or 2RM
    preferred, 2-3 weeks before you switch type of exercise)

  • Pulls > Clean
    pull, snatch pull, clean/snatch high pull, full/power clean/snatch
    (2RM for pulls are preferred, 1RM for snatch/cleans)

  • Deadlifts >
    Traditional deadlift, rack deadlift, stiff-legged deadlift (1RM preferred, once every 4-6 weeks, one weekly session max)

  • ASSISTANCE WORK*

Day 2 UB (Upper Body)

  • Overhead Push >
    Push press front/back, snatch grip push press(1 or 2RM
    preferred)

  • Overhead Pulls >
    Muscle snatch, power snatch, high pull (each must
    be done from a "hang" position, which is from the top of
    the knees. 1RM preferred)

  • Pressing/pulling >
    Barbell bench press, DB bench press, bent-over row, military
    press, weightened pull-ups. (1RM preferred, performed
    once every 3 weeks)

  • ASSISTANCE WORK*

SPEED
Your speed days will be consisting of one and two rudimentary
exercises, two for lower and one for your upper body. When you get to your third mesocycle you can and should incorporate a third speed day (which would be an additional lower body session).

These training sessions focus on maximizing your power, or what is referred to as speed-strength, starting strength and/or explosive strength. In short, you improve
the amount of force you can excert in the shortest amount of time
possible.


Day 1 - LB (Lower Body)

  • Power snatch >
    65-85% of max for doubles (2 reps) 8-10 sets

  • Power clean >
    70-85% of max for singles (1 reps) 6-8 sets

  • Lower body plyometrics

  • ASSISTANCE WORK*

Day 2 - UB (Upper Body)

  • Choose between
    - Jerk from rack
    (split/power/squat)     > 65-75% of max for triples (3
    reps)8-10 sets

- Power snatch from hang
> 65-80% of max for doubles (2 reps) 8-10 sets


  • Upper body ballistics

  • ASSISTANCE WORK*

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

So, basically a week of training may look like this:

Monday - Limit LB

Tuesday - Limit UB
Thursday - Speed LB
Friday - Speed UB

or

Monday - Limit LB
Tuesday - Speed UB
Thursday - Speed LB
Friday - Limit UB

or when you progress to adding more speed-work:

Monday - Limit LB
Tuesday - Limit UB
Thursday - Speed LB
Friday - Speed UB
Saturday/Sunday - Speed LB


You can also adjust it to only lifting 3x a week:

Monday - Limit LB

Wednesday - Limit UB
Friday - Speed LB
Monday - Speed UB
Wednesday - Limit LB

etc.


Assistance Exercises

ASSISTANCE EXERCISES


3-10 repetitions of submaximal effort for 3-6 sets. These are to be performed after the main exercise of each session as to work on weaknesses and additional strength enhancement. Because of the demands placed on the nervous system by maxing out on your main lifts, these exercises should never be done to muscular failure.


LIMIT


LB (Lower Body)

  • Lower back training
    > Reverse hypers, good mornings, stiff-legged deadlifts

  • Upper back/latissimus
    training     > pullups, chins, rows etc

  • Quadricep and hamstring
    training     > back squat, front squat, romanian
    deads, leg curls/extensions etc.

  • Abdominals and neck training
    > flags, leg raises, neck bridges etc.

UB (Upper Body)

  • Tricep training >
    Close-grip bench, JM press, military presses

  • Deltoid training >
    Muscle snatch, overhead presses/raises etc.

  • Upper back/lat-training

  • Bicep training >
    Curls, close-grip pull-ups

SPEED


LB

  • Lower back

  • Legs

  • Abdominals and neck

UB

  • Deltoid training

  • Upper back/lat-training








Periodization (Both conjugate- and linear-based)

PERIODIZATION


Instead of periods utilizing completely different training methods, you simply shift on what is to be your main focus according to the goal of each mesocycle.

Mesocycle One

  • Maximize muscle mass
    > -More squats, fewer pulls
    -3-5 RM focus on Limit days, more assistance work
    -Focus on weaknesses

  • Work on spesific skills and flexibility
    > -focusing on your weaknesses

  • Introduce light plyometric work >


Mesocycle Two

  • Maximize limit strength for movements more spesific to your event > -In
    football you start putting much more emphasis on your legs

  • Start pushing back your anaerobic threshold > -Hill sprints, stair sprints
    etc.

  • Begin training spesific skills in earnest > -Still focusing mostly on your
    weak points

  • Concentrate on between-workout recovery > -Introduce contrast showers

  • Put more focus on your Speed-days > Incorporate more plyometric movements and go heavier on the clean and snatch.


Mesocycle Three

  • Maximize explosive strength > Your focus will now be mostly on pulls, cleans and snatches

  • Increase run-spesific intensity > Run full-speed on the track, field and be spesific towards the demands of your event/sport.

  • Start becoming very spesific to your event in your skill training

  • Maximize between-workout recovery > increase sleep, limit
    drinking/partying.


Mesocycle Four

  • Maximize starting strength >

  • -1 Limit day a week (focusing on the clean & jerk/snatches/pulls)
    -3-4 Speed days a week

  • Introduce «shock» plyometrics > Depth Jumps

  • Heavy emphasis on skills > Focus on your strengths

  • Maximize between-workout recovery > contrast showers, massages and saunas
    everyday possible, no drinking/partying etc.


There you have it, that's all the basic stuff you need to know. Any further questions about the training method will be addressed in my blog, or you can send me an E-mail at either GridIronBarbell@live.no or ingarjkd@hotmail.com.