Perhaps some of the more educated on this forum can help me out. I am wondering what are the best excercises for explosiveness and power? I am assuming plyometrics would be involved in the entire process, but how would you incorporate them??
Also would you have to have a certain level of limit strength before training for explosiveness and power?? Or can all be trained within the same training week even if you are not at a certain strength level??
I have more questions but need answers to these first.
would you have to have a certain level of limit strength before training for explosiveness
No. Sprinting itself is a mode of ‘explosive’ training. Med ball throws are an effective, versatile and safe mode of resistance training for athletes of all abilities.
can all be trained within the same training week
Yes. To ensure each strength quality receives adequate training frequency I would recommend both limit and RFD exercises be performed in the same workout!
all are very useful in improving one’s power. they say in order to engage in heavy impoact plometric training (ex box jumps and stuff) u need to be able to squat atleast 2.5X ur body weight.
Olympic lifts are also very helpful, these are the power training freaks in the weight room.
and med ball training is always guranteed to give you results, they can be even used to improve ones strength endurance and overall fitness.
Invest in some bands for the “big 3” (Sq/Bp/DL), do explosive Olympic pulling/pressing (not necessarily the full lifts, but definitely the pulls and the power versions), and incorporate plyo’s and shock training as accessory work. For football I don’t think you’ll need much of the latter beyond the skill training you’ll already be doing, however.
Thanks much for the help, now the second part of my question. What do is the difference between the “training week” and the calender week?? I am planning to weight train 4 days a week 2 upper 2 lower, really trying to build limit strength.
David, I would agree if the goal is to concurrently develop all sport specific abilities during the competitive season, however, his priority is the development of limit strength, therefore, I believe he would benefit more from a split routine which would serve to prioritize the development of limit strength while maintaining or moderately address the development of other abilities.
Training volume/frequency must adjust to the volume of sport skill training throughout the training year.
thats a load of sh*t, have you been running and jumping since you where a kid? those are plyometric actions. As for depth jumps/landings, think about when you would jump off things from high up and land, i know i did this quite frequently…there is no prerequisite squat amount before you can do plyometrics…
This all boils down to the question of what you need to do to get the training effect. You should do the simplest routine and the least amount of work necessary to get that training effect. The overuse of shock methods will diminish their effectiveness over time.
Yes, within the training parameters of ME work. If you believe that 72hrs is adequate/minimal recovery between extreme workouts for the same movement than 2 is all you can fit in a 7 day training week.
For example, if the goal is to increase limit strength in the back squat (for an off season football player), then I (being a WSB advocate) would employ a ME squat day and a DE squat day, (box squats for both days) any more squatting than that within a 7 day training week would be detrimental.
If a high volume of speed/skill work is to be performed than I would either modify the DE day by decreasing volume or replace it all together with a modified version of the repetition method.
Above all else it it the end goal which must be achieved, not one particular regulation of the means. Having said that, I have and continue to have great success (with all types of athletes) with the the utilization of ME and DE work for the purpose of developing limit strength, strength speed, speed strength,explosive strength etc
You’re wrong - OLs have shown 6 multiple sessions per week are possible, nay essential for elite status! Also, you overlook the fact that CNS and muscular fatigue are distinct. The former results from any high intensity stimulus (so you’re athletes aren’t getting 72 hours recovery anyway).
Ultimately, with your approach athletes get 1 limit session per week whilst with mine they get a minimum of 3 (plus 3 sessions of speed strength). Whose will progress more quickly?
David, sooner or later you are going to have to come to terms with the fact that olympic lifts are not the only means of strength training. And to compare the training of Olympic lifters to football players is irresponsible, not to mention the downfall of the NSCA.
OL’s are speed strength lifts. This is why they may be trained more frequently and at higher intensities, respectivley. Additionally, I will debate you to the end of time that OL’s are inferior to squat and deadlift variations for developing specific strength for football players.
Perfoming limit training (loads in excess of 90%1RM) at a frequency of 3 times per calendar week, FOR THE SAME MOVEMENT, is a method which should be reserved for weightlifters, as I have yet to see any studies which support such claims for any other type of athlete, and especially not with squat or deadlift variations.
Once again, consistently positive results speak louder than theoretical objections. It is great that you have high success with your athletes. So do I.
As far as off season strength training goes, I still advocate a variation of the WSB approach. In consideration of pure strength development, you cannot argue the fact that power lifters consistently show higher performances in the squat than OL lifters. Additionally, as far as comparing powerlifting methods, WSB has been tried and tested and consistently produces some of the strongest lifters in the world.
Of the IPF powerlifters, who routinely squat more frequently than WSB lifters, you will still notice that the intensities of the squat training sessions are still not above 90%1RM for a frequency of 3 times per week for the squatting movement.
Find me any collegiate or professional football player who is able to squat 3 times per week in addition to practice and competition, and I will fly you to San Diego CA for a steak dinner.