thx a lot, i found the links very interesting in solving my percentage doubts regarding the various capacities involved in the preparation.
Now i have another question for you, if you can help me…
I am thinking to use during the strenght mesocycle, according to CT suggestions, an explosive movement as warm up for the strenght work. i have only 3 times a week to workout and i will use a split ABA BAB, with A lower body and B upper body…
i was thinking to use as a warm up for the lower day, jump squat with 10%of max squat, before doing 6x2 on the back squat with 85-87%1RM,
and i have a doubt also on using in the upper day, some medicine ball throw before incline bench presses 6x2@85-87%1rm. the progression of 6x2 in the strenght program will be to 6x3 and finally and hopefully in the 3rd mesocycle, 6x4.
thanks for your help
i was thinking to use the same load for the whole mesocycle (3 weeks) and increasing 1 rep after reaching the prefixed number of reps on the exercise… i make an example
back squat 2-2-2-2-2-2 @ 200 pounds on backsquat
then 3-3-3-3-2-2
then 3-3-3-3-3-3
then 4-4-4-3-3-3
then 4-4-4-4-4-4
when i reach 6x4 with the same weight i improve the weight of 5%
if i don’t go wrong , this is method is frequently used by Charles Poliquin, who called it “the patient lifter”
i know also the method you propose, it is used by CP too, who calls it “5% solution”
in my plan, devoting 2 mesocycles to strenght training i was thinking to do the first with the 5x5 method and the second with the patient lifter.
Do you like the 5x5? or have any experience on it in volley strenght training?
could it bit better to use the 5% solution method?
I prefer to unload to 40% but this is dependent on you. If you’re one to lose strength/motivation quickly, then I would definetly not leave the gym. If your recovery abilities are poor though, your body probably craves that week off.
And yes that is the 4-5% solution. No, I don’t like the 5 x 5 method because I feel like 5 reps at relatively high intensity for consecutive workouts is too many reps for most volleyball players (who if you’re going to have any success, you should be very fast-twitch). It would take a very experienced athlete (in my opinion) to perform those reps with great intensity. If you do, I would definetly incorporate rest-pauses.
I don’t mind the patient-lifter’s method but I do feel like the 4-5% solution offers more immediate progression without such mind-numbing work. Again, for fast-twitch individuals moving into lower repetitions (from mid-range) offers great benefit since they don’t respond to volume (normally). But at all times remember that you are chasing intensity, not volume, so you don’t have to match up your set/rep combinations perfectly (2x10 vs 10x2). So I probably wouldn’t go over 3 sets of 5 if I was working that range in consecutive workouts. I would prefer to contribute more time to speed-strength.
Hi SpeedKills,
I disagree with “not volume”.
I think that the work capacity is important to play long games (typically 2h) and in my experience, high rep number (over 45 total rep @ 75%) are a good way to do this.
Intensity, in volleyball, is more specific. I think it’s better to do with game.
Well I’m glad to see that you registered an opinion rather than just saying I disagree. I think your argument makes perfect sense but in my opinion I believe that strength/power work is just that. I believe in developing work capacity/special endurance through means more specific to the sport. I don’t believe that lifts at 75% offer much benefit except for young lifters and bodybuilders.
Further, I disagree regarding my advice posted above. I was posting in reply to resistance training specifically (and with heavy loads at that) so I’m not going to have someone do that much volume. Perhaps I would have them do some strength-endurance work (later in the workout), but I’d rather do that when the training schedule allows as opposed to trying to force it in all the time. Too many other things to develop and spend time on to spend that much time lifting weights. So in my opinion, intensity and volume have more to do with the game so treat your lifting for what it is, an opportunity to improve the general qualities of strength or power and reduce the opportunity for injury. I would say that work capacity has to do with how an individual can train, and you can definetly train to influence (and therefore improve) your individual work capacity. But to use resistance training as an endurance tool, in my humble opinion, is flawed rationale (at least in the grand scheme). Perhaps you’re talking about GPP work or something different? We could be disagreeing on different points altogether. Anyhow, I appreciate your input.
If you don’t mind me bringing up a slightly old thread. I play college volleyball (men’s), and I was wondering what types of ab work you usually do. Volleyball is kind of unique in that the abs have a definite dynamic component in trunk flexion when you are hitting. My question is if you do any dynamic or reactive exercises for the abdominals? Thanks in advance.
Not only for GPP but also during the “in season” phase.
Il allows to re-conditioning the body (with a low stress level of SNC).
Five, six or ten w.o. at high volume during the in season phase (typically ten month) aren’t for bodybuilding but they are a way to contrast the effects of some high intensity volleyball skills (like spike or block) practiced for a long time.
Some of those effects are an increasing the risk of injury and a performances lowering.
I agree with you but the opportunities must correctly be used for giving best results.
Sorry, I use the term GPP loosely. What I really mean, is improving an athlete’s fitness. Of which, I do agree you can continue to work on and improve in-season. But I do prefer doing so in 2 separate actual GPP phases (here, it’s one for the high school comp. season and another for the club season).
I agree regarding your comment on optimizing loading parameters (i.e. volume/intensity). I am not a volleyball coach so I’m obviously only commenting on the strength/conditioning of the volleyball athlete and not the complete preparatory plan. So a complete plan by a volleyball coach who is in charge of the entire plan (including strength/conditioning) may reach the same end result as I have (hopefully) with very different methods. And there’s nothing wrong with that at all.
SK,
what do you recommend to train “agility” especially the reactive. Is it simply just a side effect of being more “powerful” as a result of a good speed & power program?
To me it’s both. The volleyball players I have do a ton of technical work on their movement in season (which is practically year-round), but when I have the opportunity to have them do true power/speed work I have them do it. I try to clean them up (movement-wise) as much as I can and teach them the progression into real speed and power (without all of the thinking/analysis their volleyball coaches would swear that it needs) so when they get into competitive work (pre-season/competitive season) their coaches look at it and decide not to mess with a good thing. Lots of acceleration (true volleyball speed work) and short change of direction drills (normally not more complex than 1 change of direction/movement).
However, without a good strength program all of this is for not because they won’t be strong enough to stay in position long enough to react the way they need to. Good strength/speed/power programming is hard to beat in terms of transfer (as a base), but the lower the level of the athlete the more opportunity you have to engrain proper “agility” (movement/patterns/timing/rhythm). Along that same line, a sprinter’s GPP combined with volleyball-specific technical agility work (coached with the same common sense as Charlie’s sprint programming) makes a pretty damn good program (outside of the weights).
One volleyball player I had last year was telling me how much of a dumb ass she thought her coach was because when she showed up for camp her coach was insistent that she was a much better volleyball player (her performance was “Night and Day” I think was the term used). The player then told me, “how stupid, I didn’t even play volleyball all summer!”
