What do you think your favorite sports stars are doing when they are not in season? Are they laying on a beach soaking up the sun? (Probably at some point) Are they buying expensive shit and dodging Paparazzi? (Most certainly). No matter what, I damn sure am certain that they are not playing their sport! This is because the ravages of professional athletics take a toll on the body and the last thing that needs to happen is more of the same.
Seasonal changes to your athletic programming is essential to Peaking when it is time to perform. From High School thru to professional sports clubs, there is a clear distinction on how you should train and as a General Fitness Athlete, you should care too.
There are 2 major types of training that can be broken down into sub groups; In Season Training and Off Season Training. There are run up periods to each and cool down periods to each but essentially, the goal is to ensure that the bones, muscles and hormones are peaking at the right time.
Off Season Training is focused on developing Strength and Power. Athletes, like yourself need to accustom your joints to heavier and heavier loads which help gain muscle mass and develop a host of neurological adaptations. This is not the time when athletes are playing their sport at all. Rinaldo isn’t kicking balls around, Brady isn’t touching a football. As a General Fintess Athelte; maybe you have your sights on the CrossFit Opens or running Marathons in the Summer ; you shouldn’t be out crushing yourself like you would on the track or in the gym leading up to your competition.
In my programming, I use the fall and winter months to expose athletes Off-Season training. Typically you will see an emphasis on progressive volume training and certainly OVERLOAD of the muscle with heavy lifts and conjugate methods. BackSquats, Deadlifts, Isometric Cycles, etc.
In Season Training is a delicate balance of preparing the body for the abuse that you are going to deliver during the 6-8 weeks you compete. As you can expect, this training looks much different for a Hockey player than for a Football player. As a General Fitness athlete, you should specifically understand the demands of your given season and your competition schedule. For example, a marathon runner typically has a 6 week build up right before a race. Strict guidelines in terms of milage and weight room volume help to ensure Peaking at the right time.
2 Distict elements of in season training must be noted. There is a ‘pre-season’ and a ‘maintenance’ period during this time. Pre-season is where the strength and physiological adaptations from off season training are molded into SPORT SPECIFIC WORK. Maintenance Period is about RECOVERY, and SKILL work.
My programming calendar places an emphasis on February/March/April as time to re-test benchmarks, working on Speed and Agility. The point is to expose the body to the ‘PAIN’. Threshold training is important fo developing the toughest MIND possible. Mental Strength helps to understand that limits are only imposed upon the body by our perceived threshold for suffering. If I can show you that a 20 minute EMOM can push you to the margins of your ability, then a 3.5 hour Marathon pace Run will be a laughable exercise!!!
Goals are essential. If we are aimlessly training with no specific purpose, this is a recipe for physical degradation and lack of motivation. No matter your personality , there is a REASON why you choose to get up and go to the gym. Use that reason to help guide your Goal Setting. Marking something on the calendar can have a huge mental impact on how you live your life. At this point, all you have to do is follow my program template or another highly trained coaches guide for success.
Believe in yourself, develop a greater understanding of the WHY behind your training and THRIVE!! I Will be here to support you the entire time.
Love,
Eric
Programming Notes 5/6-5/9 *** This is Week 4 of the Speed Work Exposure cycle. We start off the week with a couple Interval based conditioning workouts and then taper to more aerobic work to finish the week. Intervals are performance based and you should be aiming for equal measure of output for both Monday and Tuesday workouts.
5/6
Baseline:
4X
50 High Knee Rope Skips
10 Banded Good Mornings
10 Banded Monster Walks
10 Single Leg Toe Touches
Hamstring Primer:
3X 8
-Deficit Romanian Deadlift 135/95
-Pendlay Row
Clean Warm Up :
7 @ Each
-Muscle Clean
-Hang Power Below Knee
-Hang @ Knee
-High Hang Squat Clean
Clean Complex:
Power Clean + Hang Squat Clean
3-3-3
*No Touch and Go!
* Building weight each Round
Anaerobic Conditioning:
5 Rounds for Time
6 Chest to Bar Pull Ups
6 Power Clean 155/105
36 Double Unders
—Rest 3 Minutes—
REPEAT. Score should be within :15 of previous.
5/7
Baseline;
400m Run
10X @ Each
-Leg Swing
-Bird Dog
-Fire Hydrant
-Divebomber Push Up + Calf March
-Side Plank Knee TO Elbow
Lunge Flow:
-Ankle Roll Outs
-Hamstring Pulses
-Elbow To Instep
-Samson Lunge
-Pigeon Stretch
Strength :
Kettlebell Front Rack Step up
4X5 Each Leg
*Once hip is at full extension, non-working hip flexes and knee comes up
foot stays in dorsiflexion
Conditioning:
8 Minute AMRAP
1 Mile Run
Max Backsquats @ Bodyweight + 10#
*Goal is 15-20
—Rest 8 Minutes—
4 Rounds for Time
400m Run
5 Backsquats @ Bodyweight + 20#
5/8
Baseline:
Agility Warm Up @ 10m Each
High Knee Pull
Quad Pull
Squat 180 **stepping the leg high over hip, swing opposite leg to 180, squat
High Knees
Butt kickers
Marching High Kicks
Groiners
Straight leg shuffles
Fig 4 Drill
Lateral Shuffle
Carioca
Lateral Bounding
Sprint W/ Change of Direction
“Speed Work 104”
3 Rounds
10X Kneeling Arm Swing
10 X 3 Count High Knee Wall Drill
50m Straight Leg Scissor Drill
50m A Skip
50m B Skip
50m Lateral Bounding
50m Power Skip -Horizontal Bias (really extend and push through back leg)
2X 90 degree Change of Direction sprints. (2X Left COD/ 2X Right COD) @ 50m
1X 3 Point Sprint Start to 100m
Accessory Work:
4 Rounds
8X Depth Jump @ 24” to 30+” box
5X Line Touch/ Backpedal @ (10m/20m/30m Distances)
10X Bulgarian Split Squat (you choose the weight)
5/9
Baseline:
500m Run
50 Calories on the Assault Bike
3X
10 Banded Pull Apart
10 banded Pass Thru
10 Banded Good Mornings
10 Side Plank Knee To Elbow (Each Side)
Gymnastic Skill:
Practice Walking on your Hands for 10 Minutes
Or-
Practice Wall Walks and Holds for 10 Minutes
Or-
3X 1:00 Seated Dumbbell Overhead Hold
Workout:
NOT FOR TIME
50 Turkish Get Ups
*Switch Arms Every 5 Reps
5/10
Baseline:
3X
500m Row
50’ Overhead Plate Lunges
20 KB Side Bends (10 Each Side)
15 Broad Jumps
:15 Ring Support Bottom
Squat Flow: Squat Flow: Kang Squat, Internal Rotation, Ankle Roll Out, Bootstraps, PNF Stretch, Squat W/ T Spine Stretch
For Total Time:
50 Wall Ball Shots
3 Rope Climbs
50 Toes To bar
3 Rope Climbs
50 Barbell Back Rack Lunges 45/35
3 Rope Climbs
50 Ring Dips
3 Rope Climbs
