H.E.A.T. Coach

I was approached about three weeks ago by the Director of Strength and Conditioning at Transylvania University (TU) about doing some conditioning for their athletes in their off-season. Since TU is a D-3 university they cannot have an organized mandatory off-season conditioning program for their athletes, but they can offer voluntary conditioning times in which a certified professional can oversee technique and safety... this is where I step in. The time periods have been named High Endurance Athletic Training (HEAT) sessions and I am pumped to start working on the programming for it.

I am excited about the opportunity to work with athletes again, since I haven't worked with collegiate athletes since the football team and the University of Kentucky in the Spring of 2009. I wanted to fill you in about the opportunity that I have accepted and start on Monday.

Are there any opportunities that you could take advantage of to further your experience and career?

Getting better at being better

New Rob and Old Rob met this morning at the bathroom mirror and the convo went something like this:

O.R.,"Man, what's your body fat %? Did you eat somebody?"
N.R.,"18%, but I have a plan to lower it and not take away from my 5 days of resistance training."
O.R., "What you got for me?"

I decided to quit my security job--- due to lack of sleep, killing or completely omitting my 5th workout a week, and wanting to focus more on training and family--- and get some specific strength gains this year. I also want to get back to 10-12% bodyfat, because after my weighted vest experiment i realized that it was creeping up and I don't want to look like a slob and 1/2.

My split now is:
Monday: Deadlift and back
Tuesday : early= sprints, plyos, olympic lifts like snatch, clean for speed
later= chest, triceps, and straight arm shoulders
Wednesday: legs
Thursday: early= olympic lifts like those above and sled push/pulls
Late= back and biceps
Friday: Shoulders, triceps, and a straight arm chest movement

Today was the first day of olympic lifts and explosive cardio:
5 minute jog to warm up on treadmill

snatch
2 warmups, 3 workings sets of three reps

clean from floor
pretty warm already--- 3x3, really trying to focus on the catch

sled push/pull- distance 20 yards each way
180lbs on sled- three trips back and forth, rest while training partners completes his trip (roughly 25 seconds)

legs were destroyed from my leg workout yesterday, I posted it at www.straighttothebar.com

I foam rolled afterwards and feel good to hit back and biceps in about an hour

Sledgehammer and Sled Workout

Monday through Thursday I am in the gym pushing weights around... today was a new experience. Did you ever have a labor-intensive job? I worked construction one summer and worked as a landscaper for two years, long days... but they were fulfilling days. I knew how many trees I moved (approximately) and how much dirt I shoveled and steel I placed. Best of all, I got to see the finished product afterwards.

Steel beems that wouldn't budge. Trees planted perfectly, mulched and all. Sod laid. Fitness is no different. Isn't every one training for a reason.. a goal??? Those people that say, "I don't have a plan, I just like being here... I don't have any goals"

I don't understand them at all. What do you mean you don't have any goals? Do you just not want to vocalize your goals? Do you not want to tell me any of them? Are you lackadaisical with everything else too? And the list of possible questions goes on. My point is, if you work out you should have a reason to be there. You want a finished product, of some sort.

Fridays are going to be a combination of hitting a sledgehammer into a pile of sand, throwing sandbags, throwing cinderblocks, pushing and pulling a weighted sled and whatever else myself and my lifting partner can think of that will push us to the "up-chuck brink" while having a functional purpose. Today we completed four sets of one minute each hitting a pile of sand behind the Johnson Center. I went for a minute, rested for a minute and a half while Chance Cianciola (www.swonkdiesel.blogspot.com) had his turn.... did i mention we were OUTSIDE??? it's cool though, it was only 5 degrees.

The first two sets I was too focused to count my reps and the sledgehammer was a new thing for me so I needed to work on my rhythm. The third set I hit the sand 33 times in a minute, the fourth set I achieved 40 hits.
After that we came in and pushed a 70kg sled down a hallway about 20 yards and back. I wpushed up and back, he pushed up and back and we both went three times

My quads were on FIRE.

It was a good way to end a week, look for a video of this next week. I forgot my camera today. We will complete some combination of these exercises for the next five weeks and then change it up a little bit. Variation is key.

I have fitness goals, but I like to think my strength and body are both a continuous work-in-progress.

LEG DAY, SHOOT'N FOR TREE TRUNKS

I did my legs yesterday.... and the 48 pain hasn't fully kicked in yet, but here is the work I put in:
back squat

265 1 x 10

275 3x8
285 1 x 6

Leg press 4x10
5 plates each side for two sets
6 and 7 plates each side for one set each

Leg extension 4x10
245 for two sets
240 and 235 for one set each

One-leg Hyperextensions 4x 10 each leg with a 30lb dumbbell

One-leg leg curl 4 x 10 each leg
I used 80 all four sets with my right leg and 60 for all four sets with my left leg... My knee has been bothering me. this is also very common in athletes... Having one limb stronger than the other is known as bilateral deficit. the official definition is the weight both limbs can effectively move through an entire range of motion is less than the weights each independent limb can move through the range of motion added together. This is more common in cyclists than rowers, for instance, because cyclists need to generate power one limb at a time.
It is benificial for all athletes to resistance train one limb at at time as well as both limbs together.

I then completed three sets of four point planks for thirty seconds each and three sets of 12 russian twists on each side with a twenty pound med ball.

I made sure to refuel my system after lifting and stretch out some to reduce the amount of delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) that effects me. My legs are thanking me today... but it is kind of like a thank you slap in the face

High School off-season workout

I got the chance to write a off-season strength and conditioning program for the high school football team I worked with this past season.
The first two weeks will consist of 4 sets of ten reps for the structural core lifts followed by two weeks of four sets of 8 reps... these four weeks will focus mainly on hypertrophy (muscle growth).
The last two weeks before the team starts their spring football practices and seven on seven games the team will complete 4 sets of 6 reps on all the structural lifts.

the team will lift monday tuesday thursday friday... completing all push movements (chest, triceps, quads) on monday and thursday and all pull movements (back, biceps, and hamstrings) on tuesday and friday.

I will split the team into three stations:
1) Core Structural lifts
2) Agility and core endurance
3) Auxillarly lifts

they will rotate which station they start with every day so no group is always starting with the same station.
The first and second microcycle the team will complete 3 sets of 8 reps for the auxillarly lifts and the last microcycle they will complete 3 sets of 6 reps for their auxillarly lifts.

The head coach informed me that spring practice usually lasts two weeks and then the school goes on spring break... those weeks could be devastating to the gains they make with my program. three complete weeks away from the weight room could almost negate all of the progress... UNLESS I give the team specific high intensity lifts to do throughout the week. Explosive unilateral lifts should definitely maintain a lot of the teams strength and hypertrophy gains.

I spoke with Coach Tracey for about an hour and a half about the program and the direction of the program... especially the intensity needing to be increased, as well as discipline, and improving the team's mindset.

I will start putting the program in excel and typing out the specific lifts, per day, per week for the entire six weeks.
he also asked me to construct a program for the six weeks after the school's spring break... these are going to be some huge yellowjackets....

and i'm out