Program to become a better athlete....

Expert Discussion Strength Training
1

First off, some history and general info. I’m 30 yrs old, don’t compete in any sports competitively other than occassional flag football or basketball games. Years ago walked on to university football team and training bug really hit. They had a shitty program but it made me want to learn more. Then after school worked at a gym and got into WSB training. Weighed around 185, height 5’9", benched 295, squatted 385, deadlifted 455, bodyfat was around 6-7% tested using calipers. Never tested vertical but could touch basketball rim with both hands off of standing two foot jump. Changed jobs and haven’t made time for training lately. Been about three years since I was really consitent with my training. Still continued to read and learn but haven’t put anything into practice. Fast forward to today…as of this morning i weigh 184, bodyfat 13.5% (using tanita bodyfat scale…I know it’s not the most accurate but I’m going to use it to judge my progress.) Strength levels, speed, power, fitness levels are all down considerably I’m sure since I haven’t been doing much. Goals right now are to maintain weight or possibly gain a few pounds, decrease bodyfat substantially, and just become an all around better athlete, i.e. increase speed, vertical jump, strength, etc. More for personal goals than to compete in any sports. The general outline I have is as follows:

Full-body workouts 3x a week (MWF), workouts will include the following (after warm-up): 1-2 low intensity jumping exercises, one upper body pull, one upper body push, one lower body pull, one lower body push. On Tues. and Thurs. I am doing tempo runs and extra light work for shoulders, hamstrings, upper back and stretching/mobility work. Will use same exercises for four week cycles with three weeks of increasing volume followed by one week unloading. Four cycles planned, each successive cycle exercises will change and intensity of exercises will increase. After 16 weeks will test vertical and 40 time (again for personal goals) and start over again.

2

Here’s what I have planned:

Weeks 1-4

MWF
2 sets tuck jumps
2 sets rim jumps
Snatch grip deadlift
Standing military press
Back squat
Bent over row
Ab work

T/TH
Tempo runs
Jump rope
Face pulls
Rotator cuff work

Weeks 5-8:

Same as above with following changes:
Change exercises done on MWF, one day/week change from traditional weight exercise to force absorption exercise (i.e. squat drops, bench drops)

Weeks 9-12

Same as above with following changes:
Change exercises, one day regular strength exercise, one day force absorption, one day reactive exercise (i.e. jump squats, plyo bench or push-up,). decrease volume of weight room work, begin to add in short distance (10-30 yd) sprints.

Weeks 13-16

Same as above with following changes:
Change exercises, decrease volume of strength work, increase sprint distances.

Any input?

3

Have you read any stuff by Kelly Baggett?

Here is an article on VJ and speed
http://www.higher-faster-sports.com/jumphigher.html

EDIT my post done as you were doing your 2nd one.

4

yeah, actually i used to chat with kelly pretty regularly a few years ago. The program will be pretty fluid depending on how i am progressing. I’m actually starting my 3rd week on it now. One thing i will say is i don’t feel near as worn down as i used to when i was on a WSB program.

5

wheres the stuff to build general fitness and work capacity?

6

That will be taken care of with tempo runs, jump rope, and extra light workouts on tuesdays and thursdays.

7

What are tempo runs exactly? Excuse my ignorance to that term, I’ve never heard it used.

Why did you decide to use the same exercises for the four week cycles? I was debating on whether or not to keep the exercises the same for every workout in the cycle or change them up within the week. What made you decide to keep them the same?

Why don’t you do your tests after every four week cycle and not wait 16 weeks? 16 weeks seems a bit long.

8

tempo runs are basically just short distance jogs, i’m doing them on a football field, job 100 yds. at low intensity, walk 100 yds, and repeat.
the reasons i’m keeping the exercises the same is to really bust ass on them and see how much i improve, i’m not near the point right now where my body’s gonna adapt to the exercises after just a few sessions.
and as far as testing, i may do some after eight weeks, just depends on how the training goes.

9

Why do you have 2 leg exercises per total body session? Do you feel one would not be sufficient?

10

personal preference. i wanted to make sure i had a pulling and pushing exercise for both upper and lower body. one thing i did not mention before though is that my volume for lower body exercises is lower than upper body exercises, both in number of sets and number of reps.