Planning for the Pro Football Combine returns!

xlr8 · March 2, 2003, 7:49pm

ESPN3,

Re: Heiden runs…

That’s just the name for a drill that I use…I didn’t know what else to call it. “Heidens” are simply jumps back and forth between your legs, trying to get as wide a possible. It kind of looks like a speed skater, hence “Heiden.” I also do “extended Heidens” which involve the push off, then a cross over, then a plant and go back the other way. “Heiden runs” are the same thing, but involve one more step before the plant. I’ve been using this drill to train the start of my 5-10-5 shuttle run.

Does my description make sense? Let me know if you need more details.

xlr8

ESPN3 · March 2, 2003, 5:10pm

xlr8,
can you please explain heiden runs?
thanks

xlr8 · March 1, 2003, 8:27pm

After an “easy” week last week, I am bumping up the intensity and volume for the next few weeks. I am using more olympic lifts and plyometrics to try and compensate for the lack of sprinting (because the track is covered with ~1 foot of snow!)

First week of a 2 week cycle of creatine.

Sunday 02.23.03
Supposed to have a football scrimmage, but the snow was simply too deep to make it worthwhile. Rest instead.

Monday 02.24.03
Agility
-cut drills, heiden runs

Plyometrics
-vertical jumps 3r x 3s
-depth jumps 18" box 6r x 2s
-pogos 20r x 2s

Medicine ball circuit
-side throws, overhead throws, chest throws 10r ea

Weights
-snatch 80% 3r, 95% 1r, 90% 2r, 85% 3r x 3s

box squat 80% 2r, 85% 1r, 90% 1r, 85% 2r, 80% 3r x 2s (regular squats are still aggravating my adductor/hip flexor, so the box squat substitute seems to be working ok.)
-bench 80% 3r, 105% 1r, 95% 1r, 90% 3r x 2s
-SLDL 90% 3r x 3s
-behind neck press 80% 3r 3s

Recovery
-contrast shower

Tuesday 02.25.03
Supposed to do tempo, but this was one of the rare times that I couldn’t get away from work to get in my training.

Wednesday 02.26.03
Migrane headache. Was going to do my workout anyway, but also found out that the regional indoor championships are this Sunday, so decided to push this workout back to Thursday and skip the heavy weights on Friday in an attempt to stay fresh enough to run well on Sunday.

Thursday 02.27.03
Sprints (had about a 30m area to work with)
-warmup/form runs
-dive starts alternated with regular starts (10m) 1r x 10s

Plyometrics
-pogos 10r x 3s
-standing triple jump 2r x 4s

Medicine Ball
-throw circuit (side, overhead, chest pass) 10r ea

Weights
-clean 80% 3r, 95% 1r, 90% 1r, 85% 3r x 3s
-box squat 85% 3r, 95% 1r, 100% 1r, 90% 3r x 3s
db bench 95% 3r, 4r
incline bench 95% 3r, 90% 3r
good morning 90% 3r x 3s
low rows 90% 3r x 3s

Recovery
-contrast showers

This was a very tough workout!

Friday 02.28.03
Rest, epsom salt bath

Saturday 03.01.03
Warmup and stretch, epsom salt bath. Get ready for regional indoor championships tomorrow!

nightmare4d · March 3, 2003, 11:39am

X!

thats a great time! and what body weight are you running at? i seem to remember you being a pretty big fella for a sprinter, meaing not 5’10-170lbs?

CoolColJ · March 3, 2003, 6:26pm

He’s 205lbs I believe

Damn man, I don’t know how you can stand the EMS stuff, I have a machine, but it’s way too painful for me!

Is it worth it? Significant gains?

xlr8 · March 4, 2003, 8:50pm

nightmare, thanks! I’m just over 6’1" and weigh 205#. Clemson, actually those measurements for Eric are about the same as mine but my legs are only about 26" and change…maybe I should take up speed skating?

CoolColJ, I pretty much hate the EMS sessions as well. But I’m doing them in two week cycles, 3x/week, so I’ve been telling myself “just get through 6 sessions then you get a break.”

Is it worth it? I can’t say for sure. Charlie seems to think it is important. I have not gained any muscle mass (and I don’t want to!) but subjectively my squats seem more explosive; that is, I seem to be able to explode up with the weight faster during the concentric portion.

I have also found that there are two types of EMS pain. The first is the pain of the voltage which seems to be reduced if you get a good contact between the leads and your skin. Use some of the tac-gel stuff or even some water to make sure they get good conduction. The second pain is the “good” pain of the muscle contracting, which often feels like a cramp. Can’t help you with this…crank it up as much as you can stand.

xlr8

Charlie_Francis · March 5, 2003, 10:37am

Thanks for the commentary. As for top speed, it should rise as workload is reduced later in the program, though at your size, acceleration will tend to be stronger than top speed.

Timothy_Lane · March 5, 2003, 4:38pm

Using water to improve the electric current makes it seem like we are going to the electric chair instead of using ems for athletic improvement. Good Lord. Couldnt we progressively build up the tolerance instead of going all out the first session? Also has anyone experiences cramps after using it? I havent but im just asking.

xlr8 · March 5, 2003, 5:08pm

Tim,

I don’t have cramps after using it, but my muscles (especially quads) often feel like they are in an agonizing cramp while the stim is applied. This seems to get better after a couple sessions of easing into full intensity, much like you suggest.

xlr8

CoolColJ · March 9, 2003, 3:50pm

frankly EMS scares the hell out me!

xlr8 · March 9, 2003, 8:39pm

Well, I finally was able to get in some running this week! I had go on some business travel to San Jose and the weather was great. In addition, I discovered that San Jose City College has a great track.

My plan called for increasing the intensity of my lifting, dropping creatine and starting a two week cycle of EMS.

Sunday 03.02.03
Regional Indoor Championships
-55m heat
-55m finals: 3rd place, personal best!

EMS - abs, low back, glutes, hamstrings, quads and feet: 10r each

Monday 03.03.03
Flew out to San Jose.
-Tempo 10 x 100m
-calethenics (pushups and situps)
I was quite surprised at how sore I was from Sunday. After all , I only ran two 55m sprints (plus warmups) but I guess that the fact that I hadn’t been able to do much (any?) full speed runs for the last couple weeks coupled with the added intensity of a significant reduction of my personal best was enough to account for the soreness.

Tuesday 03.04.03
Rest

Wednesday 03.05.03
Speed work
-Flying 20m, 20m run-up, 3r
-Flying 20m, 30m run-up, 3r x 3s
3min rest between reps, 10min rest between sets

EMS - same as Sunday

I had planned on doing plyos, but instead took advantage of the opportunity and ran an extra set of sprints. Also dropped the lifting I was planning because I was too tired.

Thursday 03.06.03
Flew home, rest

Friday 03.07.03 
The weather at home got above freezing and the track was mostly clear of snow, so I went out and did some runs.

Acceleration sprints
-10m scramble outs 3r x 2s
-20m 3t starts 3r
-30m scramble outs 3r
-30m 3pt starts 3r
3 minutes rest between reps, 5 minutes between sets

Vertical jump 3r x 2s (didn’t feel like I had much spring…perhaps tired from the sprints.)

Medicine ball circuit
-side throws, overhead and chest pass 10r ea

Weights
-snatch 80% 3r, 100% fail, 95% 2 fails, 90% 3r x 2s (didn’t have much explosion, the sprints really took it out of me!)
-box squat 85% 3r, 95% 1r, 100% 1r, 90% 3r x 2s
-bench 80% 3r, 95% 1r, 110% 1r, 95% 1r, 90% 3r, 90% 2r (new max on bench, hence the 110%! The sprinting doesn’t seem to effect my benching as much as it effects the olympic lifts.)
-SLDL 90% 3r x 3s
-behind neck press 80% 3r x 3s

Recovery
-contrast showers
-EMS, same as Monday, but skipped treating quads and hamstrings.

Saturday 03.08.03
Calethenics (pushups) and rest, football practice tomorrow…season starts in two weeks!

xlr8 · March 18, 2003, 9:35pm

This week was interesting. The good news is that the weather has finally turned enough that I can get in my track work. The bad news is that this significantly impacted my lifting. I felt like my lifts just crashed and I didn’t even feel much pop at the track. I’m putting this down to the volume and intensity of the training over the past couple of weeks. The next few weeks are going to provide some taper and I hope to see the fruits of my labor.

Sunday 03.09.03
Football Practice ~3 hours

Monday 03.10.03
Rest, fairly sore from football.

Tuesday 03.11.03
Tempo 5r x 3s 50m runs @ 75% - the grass field that I was running on was so muddy that I could only find a 50m section that was suitable.
Calesthenics - pushups 25r x 2s, situps 20r x 3s

Wednesday 02.12.03
Sprints (2 min rest between reps, 5 min rest between sets)
-10m 2r
-20m 2r
-30m 4r, 3r
-20m 2r

Vertical Jump 3r x 3s

Med Ball Circuit - side, overhead and chest throws

Weights
Box squat 95% 3r, 105% 1r, 110% 1r (needed spot), 100% 1r (spot), 90% 3r
db bench 95% 3r, 2r
incline bench 95% 3r x 2s
good morning 90% 3r x 3s
low rows 80% 3r x 3s

Recovery - contrast shower

Thursday 03.13.03
Tempo 5r x 2s 100m runs @ 75%
Pushups 25r

Recovery - Sauna 10m, contrast shower 5m, sauna 10m, contrast shower 5m

Friday 03.14.03
Sprints - top speed work (3 min rest between reps, 5 minutes between sets)
30m buildup, flying 10 - 3r
40m buildup, flying 10 - 3r x 2s

Vertical Jump 3r, 2r

Med Ball circuit - side, overhead and chest throws, 10r ea

Weights
box squat 85% 3r, 100% 1r (needed spot), 95% 1r (needed spot), 80% 3r x 2s
bench 80% 3r, 100% 1r, 110% 1r (needed spot), 100% 1r, 95% 3r x 2s
SLDL 95% 3r x 3s
behind neck press 80% 3r x 3s

Recovery - contrast shower

Saturday 03.15.03
Rest.

idealimage · March 19, 2003, 12:14am

What exactly are Heidens?

xlr8 · March 19, 2003, 12:38pm

idealimage,

I actually explain them (Heiden runs) further up in the thread. Basically they are side to side jumps from one leg to the other while moving slowly forward. They kind of look like speed skating on dry land, hence the name. I find them useful for the cutting and lateral movements necessary for football.

xlr8

xlr8 · March 25, 2003, 10:56am

This is a maintenance phase for my lifting and I’m trying to drop the volume so that I can peak my running speeds (and to avoid overtraining.) The start of the football season has been pushed back 3 weeks from when I had thought it was going to start, so I don’t have to deal with games on Sunday yet although practices and scrimmages are starting to get intense.

I also want to find some time to get up to Towson to run through the combine tests at the actual testing venue. Perhaps next week…

Sunday 03.16.03
Football practice and scrimmage. About 3 1/2 hours total. The scrimmage was pretty intense and I broke off an 80 yard run in the first series!

Monday 03.17.03
Recovery day. Pushups 25r x 2s

Tuesday 03.18.03
Tempo 5r x 3s, 60m ea @ 75%
Pushups 25r x 2s

Wednesday 03.19.03
Speed day at the track.
Warmup, skips, etc
Sprints (2 - 3 min rest between reps, 5 min rest between sets)
10yd 2r
20yd 2r
40yd 3r, 3r, 2r the last run was near a season best, so I stopped there.

Plyos
Depth jump 18" box, 6r
Vertical jump, 3r

Med Ball circuit (side, overhead, front throws) 10r ea

Weights
squats 80% 3r x 3s
bench press
-75% 8r, 15 pushups, 3m rest
-75% 5r, 10 pushups, 3m rest
-55% 10r, 8 pushups, 2 m rest
-55% 8r, 5 pushups, 2m rest
-45% 10r, 8 pushups

I have moved into the next phase for my bench press training. After just having gotten to a PB in strength, I now am starting to cycle through a period of muscular endurance in preparation for the combine test. The above routine was quite humbling because I had no ability to continue doing reps even at a light weight.

Recovery
-contrast shower

Thursday 03.20.03
Tempo in pool, 5r
Swam 5 lengths
Pushups, 25r x 2s
Crunches 20r x 6s

Recovery
-whirlpool 10m
-sauna 10m
-contrast showers 7 min
-sauna 10m
-contrast showers 8 min

Friday 03.21.03
Football Agility
-zig-zag runs
-cut drills
-shadow plays

Weights
-squat 80% 3r x 3s
-bench 75% 4r x 4s (1 min rest between sets, then 3 min rest) 4r x 2s

Again, another workout to focus on my muscular endurance for benching.

Recovery
-contrast showers

Saturday 03.22.03
Active rest, 25 pushups

Jamaal · March 19, 2003, 7:52pm

posted by coolcolj

Damn man, I don’t know how you can stand the EMS stuff, I have a machine, but it’s way too painful for me!

you can give yours to me if you dont want it

xlr8 · March 20, 2003, 11:10am

Wow, Clemson, I never considered doing them weighted! I find that I get plenty of load by simply trying to extend the lateral distance. Also, 80-100m sounds like a lot. I do mine based on foot contacts (treat them like plyos) and keep it down to 10 or 20 per set for a couple of sets.

Of course, Eric obviously knew what he was doing…the results speak for themselves!

xlr8

Carson · March 20, 2003, 12:02pm

re: weighted Heidens, or other exercises: Has anyone tried or have an x-vest? It looks interesting for some sports. I´d like opinions, if anyone has used one. Thanks.

http://www.thexvest.com

xlr8 · March 20, 2003, 4:33pm

Re: xvest.

It looks like it comes in 20lb or 40lb (!) versions. While there may be some controversy on whether or not these are actually useful in a sprint program. (I thik the concensus is to only use them for drills.) The amount of weight you should use should probably not go higher than 10% of your body weight and you should build up to that. So the 20lb vest is probably the most you would need and the 40lb vest is only useful for sumo wrestlers I actually own the SmartVest (www.smartvest.net)

I was wearing it to simulate hypergravity. that is, continuously during the day and taking it off for training. Didn’t notice any acute effects, but my foot started hurting after a few weeks. I’m not sure the vest caused it, but I have stopped wearing it just to be safe.

xlr8

Carson · March 21, 2003, 5:03am

I also think careful thought has to be put into using the x-vest in a sprint program, but if you are doing strength exercises it may be easier to work with the vest than a bar with 10-40 pounds, depending on the exercise. Definitely not a necessity, but could be a good toy to use sometimes.