Planning for the Pro Football Combine returns!

Other Sports
1

Here’s a recap of my training plan for the Pro Football Combines, copied over from the old forum. I will try to do a weekly update of my actual microcycles:

The pro football regional combines are coming to Maryland! I have signed up to participate and am in the process of putting together a training plan so that I can peak on June 8 (the day of the combines.) So I have quite a bit of time to prepare (18 weeks to be precise) and would like to make the most of it. For those of you who aren’t familiar, the combines test 4 events: 40 yard dash, short shuttle (5yd - 10yd - 5yd), vertical jump and bench press (max reps at 225#) So the focus of training needs to be on power and acceleration over short distances coupled with some special endurance in the bench press. I want to use a vertical integration training plan as described in Charlie’s books and videos. As such, I will be performing these 4 activities throughout the plan. In addition, I will be doing my tempo and core training as well as some low volume plyos. I am planning on totally skipping any type of speed endurance work. So there are fewer training elements, but I do need to add in some agility/skill work for the short shuttle.

I watched the Vancouver videos for inspiration, but I want to make sure that my plan is sound. Any comments or feedback from the forum (and Charlie!) would be awesome.

My plan started on Jan 29 (Week 1) I extended my accumulation phase out through week 3 because I was going to have to take a week off for travel in week 4:

week 2: Accumulation
week 3: Accumulation
week 4: travel to Disney (recovery week) but find some time to head up to Towson for baseline testing in all events at the actual field. Generally, I will be testing/assessing at every workout but my ‘Testing’ activity involves trying to simulate the actual combine conditions.
week 5: Start max strength cycle. This will be a traditional 7 week cycle as described in the videos. That is, 3-1-3.
week 6: max strength, EMS
week 7: max strength, EMS
week 8: recovery from weights, slight increase in plyos, slowly ramp up speed work volume from week 5 to now. Testing at Towson.
week 9: max strength
week 10: max strength, add EMS
week 11: max strength, continue EMS
week 12: taper, intensify football skills work
week 13: maintenance, spring football season starts (game every Sunday), intensify speed work. Testing at Towson
week 14 - 20: another 7 week max strength cycle (3-1-3 as described above for weeks 5 to 11)
week 21: Taper
week 22 - 23: Maintenance. Testing at Towson 10 days before, then follow 10 day peaking cycle as described in CFTS.

I plan on three days of speed work (MWF) through week 12, then I will drop to two days/week (T, Th) since playing football on Sundays counts as an activity that has significant CNS impact.

My questions are:
Since I have longer to prepare than a standard track season, I have put two 7 week max strength cycles back-to-back.

Are two 7 week max strength cycles back-to-back too much? I have a two-week gap between them which I will use to intensify the speed and agility work. Should I instead make a single cycle of three 3-week strength phases and put more space between them as maintenance weeks? I could use these weeks to intensify speed/agility work and plyos.

Finally, any ideas about how to distribute the training elements on a weekly basis? That is, I will have 2 or 3 high intensity (speed) days per week. I will need to distribute my 40 yd sprint work, short shuttle and vertical jump among those days along with weights and plyos (Thank God I don’t have to worry about speed endurance!) What is the best way to organize my weekly distributions?

Your thoughts?

Thanks!

2

I guess it depends on what your goals are for your time in the gym. I sometimes do lunges (front and side) as part of my warmup, but I don’t particularly like them as part of my main strength training routine. When I’m in the gym, I’m there to build strength and the one-legged movements don’t enable you to handle enough of a load to build strength as effectively as the two-legged lifts.

That’s not to say that they have no place in the gym. If you have an injury to one leg, they can be used and they are sometimes a nice variation, but IMHO, heavy squats should be the foundation of your strength program, everything else is icing.

xlr8

3

Here is my week 5 microcycle actuals. Background: just returned from trip to Florida, did not get in much (any) training last week, other than some swimming and calethenics. Have been struggling with pain on top of left foot (seeing doctor on Tuesday.) Caught a cold on Friday, had me down on Saturday, Sunday and Monday:

<b>Sunday 01.26.03</b> - Sick

<b>Monday 01.27.03</b> - Sick

<b>Tuesday 01.28.03</b> - cold outside, stayed indoors
Agility

  • Short Shuttle 10 reps, 2 - 3 min rest between reps
  • Vertical Jump 9 reps, 2 min rest between reps

Plyos

  • Depth Jump (18" box) 6 reps x 3 sets
  • Heidens 20 contacts x 2 sets

Weights

  • Snatch 80% 4r x 4s
  • Squat 85% 1r, 80% 2r, 75% 2 (left adductor pain)
  • Bench 80% 6r x 4s
    -SLDL 75% 6r x 2s

Recovery
-Contrast shower

Also saw doctor, possible stress fracture in left foot, but it is actually feeling much better after the time off. Seeing specialist next week.

<b>Wednesday 01.28.03</b> - planned on tempo runs, but lingering pain in foot. “Prudence is the better part of valor”

  • Easy warmup, stretching and whirlpool

<b>Thursday 01.30.03</b> - cold and overcast, no wind
Sprints (full recovery between each rep)

  • falling starts 30m x 3
  • 3 point starts 30m x 3
  • 40 yd dash 3x, felt smooth and fast

Vertical Jump 3, 3, 1

Weights

  • Clean 80% 3r x 2s
  • Squat 80% 3r, 85% 2r, 80% 3r still sore adductor, but only bothers me when squatting (go figure!)
  • db bench 80% 3r x 2s
  • incline bench 80% 3r x 2s
  • behind neck press 80% 3r x 2s
  • good morning 80% 3r x 4s
  • low rows 80% 3r x 2s

Recovery

  • contrast showers

<b>Friday 01.31.03</b> - cold and windy outside, stayed indoors.
No pain in my foot, light “w” runs in a racketball court 2 “w’s” x 10 reps.

<b>Saturday 02.01.03</b> - rest, track meet tomorrow.

4

Here’s what I did last week. This is the third week in a three week max strength mesocycle. Intensities are stepped up from last week and go up to the 90 - 95% range. Next week and I plan to lower the volume to allow some supercompensation / recovery. This is also my second week of EMS. I will drop the EMS next week as well.

The weather continues to be cold, windy and snowy so I haven’t been able to do much outdoor/track work. I am trying to compensate by doing a bit more explosive lifting in the form of snatches and cleans.

<b>Sunday 02.09.03</b> - rest

<b>Monday 02.10.03</b> - too cold for any track work.

Agility - 5-10-5 shuttle. 3r x 2sWorked on technique and first transition. Took video and did some analysis. Will post some results in the Short Shuttle thread.

Plyometrics

  • depth jump, 18" box, 6r x 2s
  • pogos 20r x 2s

Weights

  • clean 80% 2r, 90% 1r, 85% 1r, 80% 2r
  • deadlift 80% 3r, 90% 1r, 95% 1r, 85% 2r, 80% 3r, 80% 2r x 2s
  • db bench 95% 3r x 2s
  • incline bench 90% 3r x 2s
  • good morning 85% 3r x 4s
  • low row 85% 3r (tired!)

Recovery

  • contrast showers

EMS

  • abs, back, glutes, hamstrings, quads, feet 10sec x 10sets

<b>Tuesday 02.11.03</b>

Tempo - did this indoors since the weather has not been cooperating outside. Only had a very small hard concrete track to work with. Slight foot pain at end of workout.

  • long warmup/technique work (A skips. etc)
  • 50m x 4r @ 75%

Calethenics

  • pushups and situps

Pool

  • 25m x 6r, easy

Recover

  • whirlpool
  • sauna
  • contrast showers

<b>Wednesday 02.12.03</b> - the weather is still lousy, more indoor work…

Agility

  • some 5-10-5 work, other cone patterns and crossover work for football cuts and fakes.

Plyometrics

  • pogos 20r x 2s
  • standing long jump 3r x 2s
  • standing long jump with lateral sprint (10yd) 3r x 2s

Weights

  • snatch 80% 3r, 90% 1r, 85% 2r, 80% 3r x 2s, 80% 2r
  • box squat 80% 3r, 90% 1r, 95% 1r, 85% 2r, 80% 2r, 80% 2r x 2s
  • bench 80% 3r, 95% 1r, 90% 1r, 85% 3r x 2s
  • SLDL 90% 3r x 4s
  • behind neck press 85% 3r x 4s

Recovery

  • contrast shower

EMS

  • 10sec x 10sets per muscle group

<b>Thursday 02.13.03</b> - more indoor work.

Tempo

  • long warmup, easy technique drills
  • 50m x 4r @ 75%
  • feel like my feet are taking a pounding on the concrete.

Calesthenics

  • pushups, situps

Recovery (much needed, starting to feel the cumulative effects of this mesocycle.)

  • whirlpool
  • sauna
  • contrast showers

<b>Friday 02.14.03</b> - still more time indoors <frown>

Agility

  • just a few 5-10-5’s, working on crossover technique.

Plyometrics

  • depth jumps 18", 6r x 2s
  • pogos 20r x 2s

Weights

  • clean 80% 3r, 90% 1r, 85% 2r, 80% 3r x 4s
  • deadlift 80% 3r, 90% 1r, 95% 1r, 85% 2r, 80% 3r x2s
  • bench 225 for max reps
  • good morning 85% 3r x 4s
  • low rows 85% 3r x 4s

Recovery

  • contrast shower

<b>Saturday 02.15.03</b>

  • rest (and wait for the huge snowstorm which look like it is going to mess up my track work for next week!)
5

I didn’t manage to make it out to Towson for testing at the actual field because the weather here has been so lousy. I have however managed to get some baseline times so that I can see how well the plan is working.

Here are the stats:
Height 6015
Weight 205

40 yard dash 4.630 (automatic time) I expect that I will gain about 0.1 - 0.2 from hand-timing, but auto time is more consistent and available when I am training alone.

Short Shuttle 4.34 (l), 4.36 ® = 4.35 average. I had a 4.2 in December, so I don’t know if I wasn’t fully recovered when tested or have simply lost my technique

Vertical Jump 35"

Bench Press (225#) 10x

So my score at this point is:
Speed - 8.15
Quickness - 8.00
Strength - 8.40
Size - 8.68
FTG - 8.31

I’ll be doing formal testing about once a month (next test is planed for Feb 21) and keep you up to date on my progress!

xlr8

6

good to see this thread up again. everything seems to be coming along, the key is to be consistent. keep posting…

7

Thanks ESPN3. Consistency isn’t usually a problem for me, usually I have to hold myself back from doing too much. Then I get injured and frustrated. I hope I’m getting wiser (not just older :slight_smile:

I’ll try to continue posting my weekly microcycles at the end of each week going forward. Comments and critique are welcomed!

8

ESPN3…that’s a great quote you have following your posts.

9

xlr8 or anyone
what is the best stance for running the 40 for the combines. i am working with a guy who needs some help with the start. imformation about where to place the hand and feet,if the 3point stance is best what will you do with the free arm,foot spacing etc. thanks

10

Originally posted by bohersch
ESPN3…that’s a great quote you have following your posts.

it was the quote on the san francisco 49ers weight room when roger craig, montana, rice, lott & all the others were there. its still there to this day.

11

I use a 3 point stance. I think that a four point stance is frowned upon at the combine since it is not “football specific.” (As if the 40 yard dash is!?!)

The Parisi book recommends as tight a stance as possible. That is, put your front foot about 6" away from the start line. Their reasoning is that you want to run a 40 yard dash, not a 40 1/2 yard dash.

Personally I have found such a tight stance to be ineffective because the angles are all wrong for getting a good drive going. I tend to keep my front foot back about 1 - 1 1/2 of my foot lengths and my back foot about a foot length behind that. Note that this is closer than my stance with blocks because the blocks push you more forward. Feet are about shoulder width apart.

One good tip that they did have was to keep your quick hand (the one that is not on the ground) bent with you hand at your hip. They said that most people stick it up in the air behind them and it tips off the hand timers to start the clock earlier. Keeping the hand/arm down near your hip gives them less to go on. Note that the arm tip is not really about how to get faster, just how to get a faster time.

Hope this helps!

xlr8

12

thanks xlr8

13

xlr8,
Recently I have read some training articles that promote one legged stuff in the weight room.I am not totally sold.I noticed that your workouts do not include any one leg movements.What are your thoughts on this.Do you think there is a place in the weight room for these movements?

14

Here’s what I did last week. This is the second week in a three week max strength cycle. Intensities are stepped up from last week and are in the 85 - 90% range. They will peak next week and I will follow up with a week of lowered volume to allow some supercompensation/recovery. I also started EMS this week. Need the weather to get warmer and clear up so I can spend more time at the track, also need to spend more time on recovery.

<b>Sunday 02.02.03</b>
Track Meet - Prince Georges County Sports and Learning Complex
-First place in open 60m! Took my daughters there to compete in the under 10 yr group, they ran the 55m, long jump and high jump and it was my job to make sure they were in the right places at the right times, so I didn’t have much time for a proper warmup but things came out ok.

Easy warmup with the kids
3 x 30m strides
3 x 10m block starts
1 x 60m (race!)

Slightly tight quads after the 60, so skipped the 200m and 200m relay (Not my best events anyhow!)

Weights
-snatch 80% 3r, 85% 2r, 80% 3r, 85% 2r
-squats: did warmup, but skipped working sets because of sore adductor
-bench 80% 3r, 90% 2r, 85% 3r x 4s
-SLDL 80% 3r, 85% 2r, 80% 3r x 2s
-low rows 80% 3r, 85% 2r x 2s, 80% 3r
-behind neck press 90% 2r, 85% 3r x 2s

EMS - this is the first of two weeks (6 sessions) of an EMS cycle.
-abs, low back, glutes, hamstrings, quads, feet. Using Charlie’s recomended protocol - 10sec contractions, 60 sec rest, 10x for each muscle group.
I pretty much hate this part because it is ‘bite leather’ painful (especially the quads…it feels like a cramp), it’s a pain to get the pads in the right place and since I only have 4 leads, it takes about an hour and 1/2 to get through the whole thing.

<b>Monday 02.03.03</b>
Recover. Contrast showers, missed tempo (too much going on at work.)

<b>Tuesday 02.04.03</b> - cold outside, stayed indoors
Agility
-5-10-5 shuttle 4x each way, full recovery

Plyometrics
-depth jumps 18" box, 6r x 2s
-heidens 20r x 2s

Weights
-clean 80% 2r, 85% 2r, 80% 2r
-deadlift 80% 3r, 90% 2r, 85% 2r, 90% 2r, 85% 2r, 80% 3r x 2s (had planned on squats, but still working around that adductor, deadlifts don’t seem to bother it because I don’t have to go as deep)
-db bench 85% 3r x 2s
-incline bench 85% 3r x 2s
-good morning 85% 3r x 2s
-wide grip pullups 6, 6, 6 (bailed out on the rows since I was tired)

EMS

  • same as Sunday

Recovery
-contrast showers

<b>Wednesday 02.05.03</b> - stayed indoors again, it has been consistently below freezing (my threshold for outdoor work)
-tempo runs (big 'w’s) in racketball court

-saw doctor, no stress fracture(yea!), probably just tendonitis in my left foot…stretch, etc.

<b>Thursday 02.06.03</b> - still cold.
Agility - 5-10-5s and cone drills. I wanted to get out to the track and do some flying 10s and 20s, but it was too cold outside.

Plyos
-vertical jump 1r x 6s full recovery
-depth jump 6r x 2s

Weights
-snatch 80% 3r, 85% 2r, 80% 2r x 2s
-box squat (to parallel) 80% 3r, 90% 2r, 85%2r, 90% 2r, 85% 2r, 80% 3r x 2s (used this as another squat variation to let my adductor fully heal)
-bench 80% 3r, 90% 2r, 80% 3r x 2s
-SLDL 85% 3r x 4s
-behind neck press 95% 1r, 85% 3r, 80% 3r x 2s

EMS

  • same protocol

Recovery
-contrast showers (I need to hit the sauna and whirlpool, but haven’t been able to make time…my workouts are taking too long.)

<b>Friday 02.07.03</b> - snowstorm
-snowed in for most of the day, got in a few calethenics, thats about it. Some DOMS (from EMS?)

<b>Saturday 02.08.03</b> - about 6" snow on the ground, cold
Football
-played about 2 hours in the snow!

15

Here’s my latest update. This week is a much needed easy week in the weightroom (and I get to cycle off the EMS for 2 weeks), but bumped up my plyometric work and was supposed to increase my sprinting volume a bit, but the snowstorm (the largest ever in the area!) interferred with that quite significantly.

I was also suppposed to test the four big events (40 yd dash, short shuttle, vertical jump and 225 bench reps) again this week, but did not do so because I couldn’t find a place to run the 40. If the snow melts, I’ll try to get that in next week.

<b>Sunday 02.16.03</b> - huge snow!
Lots of shovelling, but unable to get to the gym. EMS @ 10s x 10 reps on abs, low back, glutes, hamstrings, quads and feet.

<b>Monday 02.17.03</b> - even more snow.
Lots more shovelling, rest

<b>Tuesday 02.18.03</b> - dug out, ~ 2 feet of snow on the track and I’m too tired of shovelling to get rid of it.

Agility

  • 5-10-5’s, cone drills
  • Vertical jump 3r x 2s

Plyometrics

  • depth jumps 18" 6r x 2s
  • pogos 20r x 2s
  • standing triple jump 2r x 6s

Weights

  • snatch 80% 3r, 90% 1r
    low back seized up, probably from shovelling. Didn’t do any other lifts that involved lower back.
  • bench 80% 3r, 95% 1r, 90% 1r, 85% 3r
  • behind neck press (substituted hammer machine) 80% 3r x 3s

Recovery
-contrast shower

<b>Wednesday 02.19.03</b> - rest

<b>Thursday 02.20.03</b>
Extended warmup, A skips, etc.
Tempo

  • 50m x 4r

Recovery

  • sauna
    -contrast shower

<b>Friday 02.21.03</b>
Agility

  • 5-10-5’s 2r x 4s

Plyometrics

  • depth jumps 18" 6r x 3s
  • pogos 20r x 2s
  • standing triple jump 2r x 6s
  • heidens 20r x 2s

Weights - back is all better, must have just been fatigue.

  • clean 80% 3r, 90% 1r, 85% 2r, 80% 3r x 2s
  • box squat 80% 3r, 90% 1r, 95% 1r, 85% 2r, 80% 3r
  • db bench 95% 3r
  • incline bench 95% 3r
  • low rows 95% 3r x 3s
  • glute-hamstring raises 3r x 3s

Recovery

  • contrast shower

<b>Saturday 02.22.03</b>

  • rest

Overall, I feel like I have been progressing pretty nicely. My lifts seem to be going up, but I have not been able to do much running (which is really starting to bug me!) And my actually explain why my lifts are progressing so well.

Running on the indoor concrete that I have available seems to really beat up my feet and lower legs. Plus it is not really long enough for top speed work. As such, both my tempo and speed work have been much less than ideal and I’m still fighting some pain in my left foot. I can’t wait for spring and some nice soft grass for running on!

16

Re: 55m time

6.28 (h) I got out well, but I need to work on my top speed. I feel like I get to about 30m pretty fast, but I’m already at top speed. The guys who beat me keep on getting faster out to the finish line and I can’t get enough of a lead at 30m to hold them off.

17

xlr,
if you don’t mind me asking, what was your time?

18

Yes, I was pleasantly floored when I saw the time! And a big thanks to you, Charlie. I lifted my training plan as directly as I could from your books and videos.

xlr8

19

Good stuff. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and a .3 time improvement is huge in a 55m.

20

BTW, I just got back from my regional (Maryland, Virginia and DC) indoor championships. I got a personal best by better than 0.3s in the 55m which was good enough for third place, so I guess my program is working!

xlr8