€¦ · Web viewWe’ve observed that many young players coming into our program have ignored the neck and the shoulder capsule. For that reason, we urge young players to begin

EDINAHORNET

SUMMER STRENGTH TRAINING

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HORNET SUMMER STRENGTH & CONDITIONINGTABLE OF CONTENTS

I. HORNET STRENGTH & CONDITIONING MANUAL pg.4-17II. SUMMER STRENGTH TRAINING – 3 PHASES pg.18-30

III.STRENGTH TRAINING ROUTINES-

a.) Multi-Set Barball pg.31b.) Multi-Set Dumbbell pg.32c.) Dumbbell Elevator pg.33d.) Multi-Set Machine pg.34e.) Pre-Exhaust pg.35f.) Lower Body Routine pg. 36

IV.STRENGTH TRAINING-

a.) The Rep pg.37-40b.) Importance of Progression pg. 41-47c.) Intensity & Time pg.48-50d.) Supervision & Motivation pg.51-52e.) Recording pg. 53f.) In Season Training pg. 54g.) Program Organization pg.55-58h.) Upper Body pg. 59-60i.) Lower Body pg.61-62j.) Neck/ Midsection/ Arms pg. 63k.) Strength Training Principles pg. 64l.) Seven Strength Training Variables pg. 65-67m.) How to Record pg. 68n.) Manual Resistance pg. 69-89

V.CONDITIONING

a.) Specificity of Conditioning pg. 90-102b.) Warm-up Procedure pg. 103c.) Interval Routines pg. 104-112d.) Sample Five-Week Interval Programs pg. 112e.) Maximum Results in Minimum Time pg. 113f.) Short Shuffle pg. 114g.) Up- Backs pg. 114h.) The Ladder pg. 115

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HORNET SUMMER STRENGTH & CONDITIONING

HORNET SUMMER STRENGTH & CONDITIONINGTABLE OF CONTENTS

VI. SKILL DEVELOPMENT pg. 116-117

VII. FLEXIBILITY pg. 118-119

VIII. NUTRITION REST pg. 120-125

IX. THE MENTAL COMPONENT pg. 127-132

X. QUESTIONS & ANSWERS pg. 133-143

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I. EDINA HORNET STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING

The purpose of this manual is to provide you with a general overview of our conditioning philosophy. The methods we endorse are based upon the most current literature available, the facts, and our experience. It is our responsibility to provide you with those methods that stimulate the best gains in the safest and most efficient manner possible.You’ve all increased your fitness levels using a wide range of methods. Our goal is to provide you a program with balance.Too much emphasis in one area may leave you deficient in another area.Overall fitness specific to the needs your sport is our priority.

CONDITIONING CALENDARSkills are specific. Running a drill, catching a ball, shooting a ball, coveringreceiver requires specific skills. You will be rusty at these skills if you wait untilyour pre-season camp to employ these skills.Time and space do not allow us to give you all the details of our conditioningphilosophy. We have enclosed general guidelines. Should you have any specificquestions, please do not hesitate to contact us immediately.There are several elements that make up your overall levels of fitness. Theyinclude the following components. Each must be addressed individually to achieveoverall fitness for an athlete:1. MUSCULAR STRENGTH2. CONDITIONING3. FLEXIBILITY4. SPECIFICITY OF EXERCISE5. SPECIFICITY OF SKILLS6. NUTRITION/EXCESS BODY WEIGHT7. REST

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MUSCULAR FITNESSThe primary objective of our strength program is to reduce the chance of injury andbuild general overall strength. The risk of injury to any area of the body demands thateach major muscle group be developed to its maximum. Most sports are gross motoractivities. All major muscle groups are used to perform each of the skills you use on thefield or court. We can enhance the abilities you use if each area of the body is developedto its maximum. Balance is the key to your overall fitness program. Balance is also the key to your strength program. We divide the body into five major segments. They include the following:1. NECK (Neck, Traps)2. HIPS & LEGS (Buttocks, quadriceps, hamstrings)3. MIDSECTION (Abdominals, Low Back)4. TORSO (shoulders, Upper Back, Chest)5. ARMS (Biceps, Triceps, Forearms)Each area of the body, and exercise performed, must be given equal emphasis.We’ve observed that many young players coming into our program have ignored the neck and the shoulder capsule. For that reason, we urge young players to begin emphasizing those areas. Your program lacks balance and the proper priorities if you spend 25 minutes bench-pressing each workout, and just a few minutes on your neck and/or shoulders.Your muscles act as shock absorbers for your joints. Our goal is to prevent the“sudden impact” injury, if possible, and also reduce the repetitive trauma muscles areexposed to day after day, practice after practice. By developing and maintaining nearmaximum strength levels during the season, we also hope to prevent or minimize theaccumulative trauma to your joints that can cause problems after your career is over.

REPThe foundation of any strength program is the rep. It is how each rep is performed that determines the quality and productivity of each exercise. We divide the rep into three phases. They are the raising phase , the pause phase and the lowering phase.Each phase is equally important. The same muscles used to raise the weight are the same muscles used to lower the weight. With the proper emphasis, you will also get stronger from the lowering phase of an exercise.

RAISING PHASE:During the raising phase, you must raise the weight without jerking, bouncing, orusing momentum to assist. The brain will only recruit as many fibers as is needed to raise weight – no more, no less. Motor learning experts state that it is the “intent” to raise the weight fast that is the key to developing explosive power. Not that the implement itself moves fast.If you can raise the weight extremely fast, the weight is too light to stimulatemaximum strength gains, or you are using momentum to assist. Observe the competitivepower lifter attempting to bench press a heavy weight. He pauses momentarily with thebar touching his chest and tries his hardest to rise the weight as fast as he can. The barwill move in a smooth and controlled manner.Observe the Olympic lifter performing the power clean. The lifter initiates themovement with muscle, but momentum eventually takes over as he literally throws the barin the air as he jumps under it. The use of a force plate demonstrates that there are fewand eventually no muscle fibers working during parts of the exercise.The explosive training “myth” is just that—a myth! It will eventually result in injury.Raise the weight at a speed that allows only the muscle to perform all of the work. Pause

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momentarily in the “muscles contracted” position. If there is no bounce or recoil, you can assume that you’ve minimized or eliminated the momentum.

PAUSE PHASE:The Sliding Filament Theory provides us with information regarding how a musclefiber contracts. Each muscle fiber is composed of two filaments. As a muscle (eachindividual fiber) contracts these two filaments pull themselves toward (and eventually over)each other causing the fiber to fully contract.The process is important to understand if full-range exercise is to be accomplished.The greatest numbers of muscle fibers are recruited in a muscles contracted (pausephase) position. It is at this point the best gains in strength can be made if…you pausemomentarily (stop) in the muscles contracted position .If there is any bounce in this position there are literally thousands of muscle fibersnot recruited or developed, eliminating potential strength gains.

LOWERING PHASE:Gravity and muscular friction make it easier to lower the weight. During the raisingphase, you are fighting against gravity. It makes it harder to raise the weight. During thelowering of the weight gravity is assisting you. You can lower a great deal more weightthan you can raise. Because of this, you will use fewer fibers to lower the same weightyou raised unless:1) You allow more time to lower the weight.2) You add more weight during the lowering phase.Once you’ve raised the weight and paused momentarily in the contracted position,you should take longer to lower the weight.The lowering phase should be performed in a smooth, consistent manner from thebeginning of the movement until the end. Once fatigue sets in, there is a tendency tospeed up the lowering phase. This will make the exercise easier to perform and lessproductive. The speed of the lowering phase should be identical on the first rep throughthe last rep.

HOW MANY REPS:The literature and our experience indicate that an individual should performsomewhere between 6 and 12 reps of most exercises. If only a few heavy reps areperformed, you will not have enough time to activate a high percentage of all the fibersavailable.While performing a one-max rep, you will only activate a limited supply of fibers.You will not develop all of the fibers leaving you more vulnerable to injury. There is also aconditioning effect that is specific to your sport that is obtained by increasing the number ofreps.As fatigue sets in on the playing field or court, you are gradually bringing morefibers into play. It could be the first long drive of a game, the second period, 8th inning, orhalf way through practice. If your training involves a few heavy reps, you’ll eventually beusing muscle fibers on the field or court that you didn’t strengthen in the weight room. Thepower lifter has needs specific to his event, as does the varsity athleteYou can get stronger performing almost any number of reps. Performing a fewheavy reps is more dangerous, too time consuming, and not specific to the muscularneeds of playing your sport.

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DOESN’T A FEW HEAVY REPS ADD MORE BULK? If it did, everyone using the system would be “bulky.”

WHY ISN’T THE 132 POUND POWER LIFTER BULKY? He uses the same system as the super heavy weight.The facts remain that it’s your genetic potential dictated at conception that dictate how much muscle you’re capable of adding. It’s not the number of reps you perform or the equipment you use that affect how your body responds. It’s how you perform each rep of each set, of each exercise that generates gains. It’s the developing potential your parents blessed you with and how hard you train that will dictate the magnitude of your gains.All of our players use the same system of sets, reps and exercises. Each player at every position must be afforded the same opportunity to get as strong as they can. How strong and how much muscle you gain has been predetermined.There are some specific physiological and biochemical advantages that allow some players to lift more weight and/or add more muscle than others. This is why we never compare one athlete’s strength level to another. If you’re interested in learning about what some of these differences are, just ask!

HOW MUCH WEIGHT:To generate maximum gains, you must use as much weight as you can properlyraise and lower. Each workout, you must attempt to add more weight and/or perform morereps on every set of every exercise, every time you train.Unless you frequently record your weight and reps for every exercise, you run therisk of performing exercise that isn’t making you stronger. That’s why we record theinformation we do on your workout cards. You can make an exercise easier or harder bychanging the order of exercise, raising or lowering a seat setting (on a machine) orchanging equipment. At the end of every season, we record your best effort of each exercise, that orderthey were performed, and any seat settings. We transfer them to your workout cards forthe new year. Your goal is to improve your strength level by the time your season starts.Remember, it is how you lift the weight that is the key, not how much you lift.

HOW MANY SETS:You can gain strength performing one set or ten sets. How you conclude each setdetermines how productive and intense the exercise is, not how many sets you do. As youincrease the intensity of each set you must decrease the quantity (number of sets andexercise) performed.If you perform 7 reps and you are capable of doing 8, logic tells you that you couldhave gained more from the set. A sub-maximal set will produce sub-maximal results.We have many options to our typical package of sets and reps. The foundation ofour training philosophy revolves around one to two intense sets. If you perform one or twosets correctly, you won’t want to perform any additional sets. Additional sets of properlyperformed exercise will eventually prevent you from fully recovering by your next workout.Time and conservation of energy are top priorities during the season. High intensityexercise requires the least amount of time to perform, consumes the least amount ofenergy, and best prepares your muscles for the needs of your sport.Once you’ve warmed up, use as much weight as you can handle for 8-10 all-outreps. If you perform a second set you should not be able to add more weight. If you doadd more weight, you didn’t use as much weight as you could have on the first set.

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Our approach to selecting the number of sets is based on literature, our experience and logic. All muscles are nearly identical at the cellular level. Once you establish a training package, be consistent. It doesn’t make sense to vary the number of sets (and reps) based on the body part, exercise performed, or the equipment. If you feel that 5 sets of 5 reps is most effective for your sport, you should then perform 5 sets of 5 reps while performing the bench press, neck exercises, sit-ups, and so on.The same logic (or lack of) applies to the equipment you use. The set/rep combination should not vary while using a barbell, dumbbell, machine, or manual resistance. It doesn’t make sense to state that you must use a barbell to develop yourpecs, but it’s okay to use a machine for your neck, lats, or hamstrings.It is not the tool you use, but how you use the tool that produces results. It’s not the set/rep combination that is the key to development. It is the intensity of exercise andhow you perform each rep that produces gains.

WHICH EXERCISES:The exercises you perform will be totally dictated by the equipment you haveavailable. There is no one exercise more important than another. We are not aweightlifting team. You’ll need a wide range of equipment to develop each of the majormuscles that are used to play the game and protect you. Equal emphasis must be placedon every exercise.Some athletes only perform (or prefer) those exercises they are good at or areeasiest to execute. You probably stand to gain the most from performing exercises youdon’t like to perform.Through the years, we’ve observed young players coming into our program withwell developed chest muscles from hours of bench pressing. Unfortunately, may haveignored the critical areas of the body like the neck and shoulder capsule, the hamstrings,abs and lower back.Don’t be surprised if you ask one of your upper classmen how much he can benchand he asks you how strong are the extensors of your neck or the posterior head of yourdeltoid.

NECK:Every workout you should perform 5 exercises for the neck. The first exercises arethe shoulder shrug and/or upright row followed by 3 exercises on the neck machine toinclude, neck extension (backwards), lateral flexion (side to side) left and right. We thenspot the neck flexion (forward) movement manually.

HIP & LEGS:Our normal leg routine involves six movements. A leg extension (quadriceps), legcurl (hamstrings), and two pushing (ex. Leg press or Squat) movements, inner thigh, andcalf raise. In our facility, we have 5 different pushing movements. We also have twodifferent leg extension and leg curl machines.Each piece of equipment has a different design and structural advantages. Theyoffer you a wide range of variety. We have six basic routines. We alternate routines everyworkout never going through the same routine twice. This helps to minimize the boredomboth mentally and physically.

MIDSECTION:The midsection is composed of the abdominals and the lower back. There are awide range of exercise that we use for the abs. We perform the Straight-Legged Deadliftor Low Back Extension to strengthen the lower back.

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UPPER BODY:Our normal routine consists of a maximum of 10 exercises for the upper body.The major muscles of the upper body are the deltoids (shoulders), lats (upper back), andpectorals (chest). Each of these areas should receive equal emphasis. Most youngplayers have overemphasized the pecs at the expense of under developing the entireshoulder capsule.For those players trying to add mass to the torso, don’t ignore the upper back.The upper back muscles are potentially bigger than any other muscle in the upper body.In our typical routine, we usually perform 2-3 exercises for each body part. Wehave a wide range of equipment that allows you to perform many different exercises foreach body part. For example, you will perform the seated press exercise in each of the 6routines. We have 5 different pieces of equipment to perform the seated press. Eachworkout, we change the order of exercise, substitute different exercise, and use differentequipment.If we had a priority in the upper body, it would have to be the shoulder capsule.There are 3 heads to the deltoid, and the rotator cuff. Each of these areas must beisolated and developed for their maximum to help protect the neck and shoulder area.

ARMS:We perform a wide range of exercises for the biceps, triceps, and forearms.Remember, the key to any strength program for an athlete is balance. Generaloverall strength. Develop each major muscle group to its maximum. Create as muchvariety as possible to prevent muscular staleness and boredom.Eliminate the inconsistencies and contradictions. Establish the most effective)set/rep range available. Apply that philosophy to each area of the body, exerciseperformed, and equipment used.

STEROIDS / SUPPLEMENTS:Steroids are illegal. It is a violation of the law to use a steroid not prescribed by adoctor. We do not condone the use of steroids or any supplement toenhance performance.Steroids and/or supplements will not increase the skills used to play. Blocking, tackling,shooting, reacting, lining up properly, catching and throwing a ball are not enhanced bydrugs. Train hard, get adequate rest, eat properly, and you’ll play the game as well asyou’re capable of playing.If you are a lousy athlete and use steroids or supplements, you’ll still be a lousyathlete. You’re also a dumb one. You could be banned from the league; but mostimportant, you will jeopardize your health and the health of your off-spring.

IN-SEASON TRAINING:Strength losses are rapid. Significant amounts of strength and muscular body weightare lost unless meaningful strength work is performed at least twice a week from the firstday of camp until the last game of the season. Our off-season strength program mirrorsour in-season strength program. In some programsthe amount of time devoted to in-season lifting has been reduced or labeled voluntary.Our coaches have designated training times during the week set aside exclusively forstrength training. Regardless of your past experience you must be prepared to work your

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hardest during these in-season workouts. If you haven’t in the past be prepared to exertyour best effort from the first day of camp until the last game in the season. In-seasontraining is the foundation of our HORNET strength program.The day after a game or meet you will be stiff and sore. Using sub-maximal weight willresult in a rapid decline in strength and a corresponding decrease in muscular body weight.Maintaining near maximum strength levels for the entire season can become an advantageas the season progresses.

Near maximum strength levels can be maintained if:1. You are fortunate enough to avoid serious injury.2. You are willing to train hard in spite of minor bumps or bruises.3. If you are injured you train those areas of the body that are unaffected.4. You enthusiastically perform meaningful, intense, and productive exerciseevery workout.5. You work hard to regain any loss in strength (due to injury, summer camp,etc.)6. You keep accurate records to prevent sub-maximal efforts.7. You develop consistent and sound eating habits for the entire season.8. You must avoid alcohol abuse.9. You get the necessary amount of sleep and rest to insure full recovery bygame day.Training the day after the game is the best day to lift during the season. It will helpalleviate muscle soreness. You will physically feel better at the end of your total bodyworkout and you’ll be less sore the next day. It will also prepare you for a secondproductive workout later on in the week.You must try to “peak” every day in practice and for every game until the season isover. It makes little sense to lift hard in the off-season and not work equally hard when itcan make the most difference (during the season)

CONDITIONINGCardio-respiratory (CR) fitness incorporates the efficiency of your heart and lungs.During exercise, you heart and lungs must deliver oxygen to the working muscles.The aerobic system is the energy system developed with low intensity exercisesimilar to running, rowing, stair climbing, swimming, etc. The anaerobic system is theenergy system developed with high intensity exercise similar to speed work. Each systemcompliments the efficiency of the other.An activity is considered aerobic in nature if it meets the following criterion:1. It must involve several large muscle groups.2. The activity must be rhythmic in nature (running, rope jumping, bike riding,etc.).3. It must be sustained for a minimum of 12 minutes and up to 45 minutes.4. Heart rate should remain somewhere between 70-85% of its maximum.Your heart rate is the key to any aerobic exercise. If your pace is too slow, yourheart rate will dip below 70% of its maximum and you won’t improve aerobically. If yourpace is too fast, your heart rate will exceed 85% and your gains will not be any better (but,you’ll endure a great deal more discomfort).While training aerobically, try to keep your heart rate between 80-85% of itsmaximum. To determine 85% of your predicted max. heart rate, use the following formula.220 – Age = Predicted max. heart rateX .85 = ideal beats/minute during aerobic exerciseLet’s assume you’re 25 years old. The example below illustrates how to determine

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your ideal heart rate while running, riding a stationary bike, using the Life Step, or duringany aerobic exercise:200 Max. number of times the average person’s heartbeats.- 25 Yrs. Old (age of our example)195 predicted maximum heart rate (predicted maximum number oftimes heart can beat)195 Predicted max. HRX .85 (85% = Maximum level of intensity to improve aerobic165 capacity)165bpm = Maximum heart rate during aerobic exercise.195X .70 (70% = Minimum level of intensity to improve aerobic136.5 capacity)137 bpm = Minimum heart rate during aerobic exerciseFrom the above information, we’ve determined that as a 25 year old, you must keep yourheart rate between 137 (70%) and 166 (85%). If while running, riding the bike, or doingany aerobic exercise, your heart rate falls below 137 beats per minute, your pace is tooslow to improve your aerobic efficiency. If your heart rate exceeds 166, your pace is toofast. For best results, establish a pace to keep your heart rate around 166.If you continue to run or cycle at the same pace each workout, your heart rate willgradually begin to drop and you’ll have to increase your pace to keep your heart ratearound 85%. Take your heart rate after you’ve warmed up and have been exercising at asteady pace for 5-6 minutes. Take your pulse for 10 seconds and multiply by 6 to get yourheart rate or beats/minute.No amount of running, biking, hill running, etc., will prepare your cardio-respiratoryand muscular system for the specific conditioning demands of your sport until you practiceand eventually play the game.There are some guidelines that you should observe when training anaerobically.Don’t train in a haphazard manner. Frequently record your running times and rest intervals.For example, let’s assume you run two 440’s in 70 seconds and allow 3 minutes restbetween the two. During your next workout, you run the same two 440’s but you only rest2 minutes and 45 seconds. It will make your second quarter more demanding. You mightallow more than 3 minutes rest and make the second 440 less productive than yourprevious workout. You could run either of the 440’s faster or slower, and increase ordecrease the difficulty of the workout.If you are trying to become more fit, you should record the distance run, the amountof time elapsed, and the amount of rest time between each interval. It’s the only way toprevent doing something you’ve already done. Increase the intensity of exercise as fitnessimproves.The following are guidelines suggested when performing interval work:1. Exercise time should not exceed 75 seconds (can be anywherebetween 1 & 75 seconds).2. Rest between each interval should be approximately 2 ½ - 4 timesthe running time, or until your pulse rate drops below 120.It should be your goal to determine how little exercise (not how much) you mustperform to get you ready to play the game. Don’t go into a workout feeling lethargic, stiff,or not rested. That’s a sign that you’ve performed too much exercise your last workout, oryou didn’t allow enough time to recover. Remember, you exercise to feel stronger, more fit,and perform at a higher level. As you increase the intensity of work, you must decreasethe quantity performed.

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Your speed work training can incorporate a wide range of activities. Many differentcombinations of distances (10 yds. To 440 yds.) can be used. Approximately 3-4 weeksbefore camp, you should implement some type of “skilled pattern running” which are drillsthat mimic actual practice or game day activities.Skilled pattern running must imitate the specific demands of your position and sport.A basketball player should perform drills identical to those they will run at practice whilesimulating game conditions. This will more closely place the exact physical demands onyour cardio-respiratory and muscular system that no other type of running or conditioningis capable of doing. Each position and sport dictates the specific protocol you shouldfollow.There is no right way to prepare. Your preference and personal experience willeventually dictate your conditioning package.

FLEXIBILITYFlexibility is a term used to define joint mobility and muscular range of motion. At birthyou are blessed with an abundance of flexibility as a protective mechanism. Inactivity andthe aging process erode the natural elasticity of muscles.Stretching exercises have been implemented into most conditioning programs asinsurance against injury; specifically muscle pulls. There is no study or support from thescientific community to substantiate that an increase in flexibility will prevent any injury.The degree of flexibility has little if anything to do with muscle pulls. Pulls usually occurwhen an athlete is in a fatigued state, not warmed up, or out of shape. There are severalbenefits to stretching. However, these do not include warming up or injury prevention.

Stretching is a low intensity exercise used to increase flexibility. The amount of timeyou spend stretching should be proportionate to your degree of flexibility (or lack of).Some athletes are naturally blessed with a high degree of flexibility and some are not.Stretching is not a warm-up. An exercise is considered a warm-up if core bodytemperature is increased by two degrees or you break a sweat at room temperature.Stretching does neither. Stretch to become more flexible, not to warm up. Performappropriate activities to warm up and then stretch.The best activity you can use to warm up is the activity itself. If you’re going to runpass routes all out, begin running slowly and gradually increase your speed. Stretchingwill not warm you up to run pass routes all out.There are a large number of stretching exercises to choose from. Like any other formof exercise, it must be performed with some regularity. Select a group of exercisesdesigned to stretch the major muscles in the upper and lower body.Use the following guidelines while stretching:* controlled breathing* stretch statically (hold the stretched position without bouncing)* place the muscle into a position where you feel a mild stretch* hold that position for 10-30 seconds* accelerated breathing and a burning sensation are signs of overstretchingThe specific movements you perform on the field or court will develop the rangeof motion of the muscles used to perform those activities. You develop a range of motion while performing a stretching exercise that is specific to that stretch, and the limited number of fibers recruited at that point. The range of motion of the muscles used to play your sport is radically different from the range of motion developed from stretching. Other differences include the number of muscle fibers recruited, the violence of the movements, and the many different arcs the muscles use to change direction, stop, and backpedal.

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This phenomenon can be observed in the off-season while running on the treadmill.Run intervals at 10 mph each day until your muscles adapt to this speed. You’llexperience a new soreness in the legs when the speed is increased to 11 mph. This smallincrease in speed will increase the range of motion of your stride and is enough to takeyour muscles through a new range of motion. The same soreness occurs when youincrease the speed to 12 mph.You’ve spent weeks stretching and running at slower speeds. Soreness wasn’texperienced until you forced your muscles through a new range of motion. It is not lacticacid accumulation if only a few reps were performed. It is the soreness from stretching themuscle beyond its current range of motion.Play basketball and a new soreness is experienced. Change activities (racquetball)and there’s a new range of motion and soreness. Go to summer camp and the range ofmotion to cover receivers, run pass routes, and rush the pass, will demand a new range ofmotion and soreness. After several days, your muscles will adapt to the violent range ofmotion these movements require.Regardless of how much you stretch or how flexible you are, you’ll experience this newsoreness each time you perform a new activity that takes your muscles through a differentrange of motion. Range of motion of the muscles involved is dictated and developedby the activity you perform, not from a low intensity static stretching exercise.The aging process and inactivity erode your flexibility. Some lower back problems canbe attributed to poor hamstring and low back flexibility. Inactive adults can benefit morefrom stretching exercises than active athletes.Discipline yourself to stretch daily if you wish. No equipment is necessary. However,do not use stretching as a warm-up.There are a wide range of stretching exercises. Select movements for each majormuscle group. The frequency is more important than the exercises you select.

SPECIFICITY OF EXERCISEWe’ve already briefly addressed the need for actually playing the game to developthe specific conditioning affect required to play the game. You will observe thisphysiological phenomenon when you progress from the off-season, to the first week ofsummer camp, to the first pre-season game, and ultimately to the first regular seasongame.Each is performed at a new level of intensity which places specific demands onyour level of conditioning. Only after the first few games will your body adapt to the level ofconditioning needed to play the game ads efficiently as you can.Your off-season conditioning needs to be structured in an intelligent manner thatbest puts you in a position to reach “game condition.”

SPECIFICITY OF SKILLSkill and exercise are two separate qualities. Each must be developed separately.To improve a skill you must practice that specific skill.For example, in the past we had our football linemen perform the power clean. Wetold the linemen they would improve their skill coming out of their stance. We gavequarterbacks weighted balls to throw and also tried to imitate the throwing motion in theweight room. There are other stupid examples we could give you but you get the point.The motor learning experts now inform us that it’s impossible to recreate theneuromuscular pattern used to perform a skill unless that specific skill is performed. Assoon as you add resistance to a skill, it becomes exercise or a new skill. If you play golfregularly and borrow a friend’s driver, you realize how the slightest change can affect skill.

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For, example, we ask a person to practice shooting foul shots with a conventionalbasketball. Over time, the individual develops a neuro-muscular pattern to perform theskill. The more refined the neuro-muscular pattern, the better his skill level. He begins torecruit the same muscle fibers in the same sequence each time he shoots the ball.Weeks later, we give our foul shooter a weighted basketball. He can’t shoot theweighted ball with the same degree of accuracy as the conventional ball. The ball isheavier which forces him to recruit more fibers in a different sequence. It’s a new skill. Hemust learn how to shoot the weighted ball. He must develop a new neuromuscular patternthat can only be developed by shooting the weighted ball.After several weeks of practice with the weighted ball, we ask our subject to tryshooting the conventional basketball. He can’t shoot with the same level of proficiency ashe once could. He must now redevelop the specific skill (neuromuscular pattern) used toshoot the conventional basketball. This can only be accomplished by shooting thestandard ball.The experts state that there are three types of skill transfer. They are positive,neutral, and negative transfer. Positive transfer results from the practice of the specificskill. Whatever the skill (throwing a ball, catching a ball, pass protecting, rushing thepasser), you must practice that specific skill to get better at it.Neutral transfer results in no transfer, good or bad. Playing tennis will not help youbecome a better foul shooter, but it won’t hinder your skill either.Negative transfer can occur if you perform an exercise or skill similar to, but notidentical to, the skill itself. It can actually adversely affect your skill level itself.It’s impossible to improve the skills you use to play your sport without practicingthose specific skills. For this reason, we don’t try to imitate movements you perform on thefield with exercises in the weight room. We don’t advocate any off the plyometrics craze,running down hill, or any of the other whacko ideas we’ve all had.Realize that skills are learned and they are rapidly forgotten. They must beperformed regularly to maintain. Why execute skills in the off-season that aren’t performedregularly during the season (if they are designed to help you play the game)?It’s real simple when you rely on the facts. Strengthen your muscles in the weightroom, condition the cardio-respiratory and muscular system, and practice the specific skillsyou use to play the game.

NUTRITIONNutrition is one component of a fitness program where many people aremisinformed or misunderstood. Everywhere you turn you hear or read about someonewho has gained or lost 20 lbs. in one week. This type of information is misleading anddangerous. As athletes, you must know the facts about diet and dietary habits in order toperform at your optimum level. You cannot run a high-performance race car on kerosene.These are facts that the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and AMA (AmericanMedical Association) put out on nutrition. Every athlete and non-athlete should adhere tothese facts for better performance and to live longer. They are as follows:

BALANCED DIETEveryone should eat a well balanced diet. A balanced diet should consist of eatingapproximately 60% of your daily calories should come from complex carbohydrates, 20-25% fat and 15-20% protein.Complex Carbohydrates Fats Proteins-Grain Products -Fruits -Red Meats -Oils -Fish-Vegetables -Breads -Fried Foods -Butter -Poultry

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-Rolls -Pastas -Bacon,Saus. -Ice Cream -Meats-Cereals -Rice -Whole Milk -Cheese -BeansDON’T SKIP MEALSIt is important to maintain food intake at a constant level throughout the day. Yourweight-regulation mechanism in you body is called the “Set Point.” It can be compared tothe thermostat in a home. Skipping meals to lose weight is counterproductive. The bodyprotects itself from starvation by lowering the “Set Point” or slowing down its metabolismTherefore, if you are trying to lose weight you should eat 3 small meals a day. This willhelp prevent a lowering of your “Set Point.” If you are trying to gain weight you must eat atleast 3 large meals a day plus snacks. You must increase your calorie intake.

ARE LARGE AMOUNTS OF PROTEIN ESSENTIAL?Protein is the most poorly understood and possibly the most abused nutrient by theathletic community. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for protein is calculated asfollows, 1 gram per day of protein per 2.2 lbs. of body weight. Therefore, a 220 lb. manonly need 100 grams of protein per day. This is equivalent to 16 ounces of meat.Unknowingly, an athlete can eat his total daily allowance of protein in one meal. Thus,protein supplements are unnecessary and money foolishly spent. Weight gain is acombination of increasing a balanced diet, which increases total caloric intake.

ARE VITAMIN AND MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS NECESSARY?Athletes tend to consume large amounts of food, and if a sensible selection occurs,then there is an adequate intake of vitamins and mineral daily. If your diet is not balanced,a vitamin-mineral supplementation might prove beneficial. However, the finest source ofvitamins and minerals comes from the grocery store.

WEIGHT GAINMany athletes are interested in gaining weight. The type of weight an athlete needs togain is lean body mass (muscle mass). This can only be done through a proper strengthtraining regimen and sound nutritional habits. As a general rule, in order to gain weightyou must consume more calories per day than your body expends. To do this, you mustdetermine how many calories per day your body expends. From this total, design aneating plan in which calorie intake exceeds your daily expenditure. The addition of 400-500calories per day above your daily requirement would add about one pound per week. Thekey is to ensure that the weight gained is lean muscle and not fat. Gaining more than apound per week results in increases in body fat, assuming that you are properly hydrated.Strength training will use the extra calories to stimulate growth.Tips:Eat at least 3 large meals per day + 2-3 snacksSnacks high in calories and nutrients:NutsDried FruitsShakes/MaltsPeanut Butter sandwichesCheese or veggie pizzaGranola or cereal barsDrink juice or milk with snacks.Eat a snack after dinner. Keep a loaf of bread and peanut butter and jelly in your room.Canned tuna packed in water is also a good after dinner snack.

15

WEIGHT REDUCTIONWeight reduction is a simple mathematical formula. For every 3500 caloriesburned above your basic metabolic rate (the amount of calories needed to survive) youlose 1 pound of fat. This 3500 calories burned can come from a reduction of food,increased exercise or any combination of both. Losing weight through exercise is a veryinefficient method. You burn approximately 100 calories per mile walked or ran. Therefore,you would need to run 35 miles to lose one pound of fat or 350 miles to lose ten pounds offat. Maximally, the human body can only lose 2-3 lbs. of fat per week. Any additionalweight loss would come from lean tissue (muscle) and water. A combination of exerciseand food reduction is the most sensible approach. If you reduce your diet by 500 caloriesa day (1 McDonald’s Quarter-Pounder with cheese is 418 calories) and do 30 minutes ofaerobic activity per day you will lose 2 lbs. of fat per week.

READING FOOD LABELSCarbohydrates and Proteins are 4 calories per/gram where as fats are 9 caloriesper/gram. Therefore, if a food label reads:Calories per serving...8910 grams...Carbohydrates (10 g x 4) = 40 cal. fromcarbohydrates5 grams...Fats ( 5 g x 9) = 45 cal. for fat1 grams...Protein ( 1 g x 4) = 4 cal . from protein89 cal. totalThis product would be 50% fat. Therefore, you must be careful in selecting yourfood. Just because something is low in calories doesn’t mean it is not high in fat.Lowering your fat intake is the number one ingredient for weight loss and living healthierlives.

HOW TO LOWER FAT SELECTION* Buy lean cuts of meat* Trim excess fat* Don’t fry food - bake, broil, poach, steam, etc.* Use fats sparingly - oil, butter, mayonnaise* Use skim or low fat milk productsExcess weight in the form of fat reduces speed and endurance of any athlete. Wewant you bigger not fatter! The following pages contain analysis of foods as to theircalories, carbohydrates, protein, and fat content. Also, there are some examples ofbalanced diets. These pages are to be used as reference material to improve your overalleating habits.

16

RESTRest is an important component in the fitness formula. It is often overlooked becausewe have been led to believe that more exercise is better. The key to maximum gains isthe proper amount of quality exercise and adequate rest.Exercise does metabolic damage to the body. This damage is repaired during therecovery phase. You don’t get stronger from lifting a weight -- Overload is the necessarystimulus. Gains in strength however, are made during the resting phase. If lifting by itselfgenerated strength gains, you could lift seven days a week.There’s only one energy system used to recover from exercise. The same energysystem is used to recover from lifting, running, practice and games. The energy availableto recover from exercise is limited.The ability to recover from exercise varies with the individual. Don’t waste energy.Perform quality work when you run and lift. Your training partner may have the ability torecover from more exercise than you do.Find out how little exercise you can perform to stimulate the best gains, not how much.Exercise should make you feel better and perform better. If you don’t you may beperforming too much exercise.There are indicators that can be used to determine recovery. Sophisticated urine andblood tests can be administered. Some experts claim that blood pressure and restingheart rate can be used. Feeling lethargic or experiencing unusual soreness going into atypical workout are signs of over training.We’ve stressed the need for keeping accurate records in the weight room. If you don’tmake steady progress each workout, you may be over training. As you gain strength andbecome more fit, you should be lifting more weight and running faster. You will also beperforming more work. The energy used to recover doesn’t change significantly from anuntrained state to your most fit condition.As you become more fit, you may need more time to recover or must perform lessexercise each workout. If you stop making gains before reaching a level of fitness youthink you should reach, cut back on the amount of exercise, don’t add more.You can enhance the body’s ability to fully recover from exercise. Good eating habitsare essential. Try to eat meals and snacks at approximately the same time every day.Develop normal and regular sleep patterns. Wake up at approximately the same timeevery day. A lack of a normal daily routine can disrupt the systems in the body used tohelp the recovery process.Too much rest and not enough exercise is a problem for the less disciplined.Not enough rest is a problem for the overly disciplined.The ability to increase strength, speed and conditioning levels is dependent uponquality work, sound nutrition, your genetic makeup, and the proper amount of rest.

17

HORNET STRENGTH TRAININGPHASE I 2 WEEK BASIC WORKOUT

EXERCISE REP WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REP WT/REPS WT/REPSMON WED FRI MON WED FRI

BODYWEIGHTMR NECKFRONT/BACK

12

SHRUGS 12UPRIGHT ROW

12

LEG PRESS/SQUAT

20

LEG EXTENSION

12

LEG CURL 12CALF RAISE 15GROIN 12

CRUNCHES 20LOW BACK 15

BENCH PRESS

10

BENCH PRESS

8

ROW/PULLDOWN

10

SHOULDER PRESS

8

ROW/PULLDOWN

10

ROW/PULLDOWN

8

SHOULDERPRESS

10

SHOULDERPRESS

9

BODY WT.CHINS

MAX

BODY WT.DIPS

MAX

BICEP/TRICEP

10

18

MAY WORKOUTS BASIC PROGRAMFor the first 2 weeks of the program, all three workouts will be the same. This will be a basic total workout.You may vary the order of the workout each day by starting with a different group. For example on Monday begin with Neck andfollow the card straight on through. On Wednesday begin with the Lower Body and then perform your Neck exercises and so on.On Friday begin with the Bench Press exercise, then train your Neck before finishing with Lower Body. You may also substitutedifferent pieces of equipment for the same exercise. You may use a Barbell, Dumbbell, or use a machine for any of the exerciseslisted. Use whatever you have available. Add variety. The equipment used and exercises performed aren’t nearly as importantas how each rep is performed and how you complete the set.TRAIN HARD – DON’T WASTE TIMELAST 2 WEEK of MAY - BASIC WORKOUTS1. MANUAL NECK FLEXION/EXTENSION 12 REPSFLEXION: Lie on a flat bench on your back. Cross your arms over your stomach and hang your head over the endof the bench. The spotter will place one hand on your forehead and the other hand on your chin. On every rep, yourchin will come up almost touching your chest. On every negative phase, you will extend your head getting a goodstretch.EXTENSION: Lie on a flat bench on your stomach. Put your arms behind your back and hang your head over theend of the bench. You will put your chin to your chest and your spotter’s hand will go on the back of your head.Raise your head against resistance until you can almost look straight ahead. Pause at the top pushing against thespotter’s hands. Tuck your chin as your spotter pushes you back down, chin to chest.3. SHRUGS 12 REPSPerform shrugs with a barbell, dumbbell, or machine. Shrug your shoulders straight up and try topinch your ears. Lower the weight slowly. Do not roll your shoulders. When you can no longer complete a perfectrep reduce the weight by 20% and continue to failure.4. UPRIGHT ROWS 12 REPSOnce again use whatever tool is available – barbell, dumbbell strap, manual resistance, etc. Raise the weight toyour chin. You should lead with your elbows. Pause the weight on your chin then lower it slowly getting a good stretchat the bottom. Have your spotter assist you with additional reps once you reach failure.5. LEG PRESS/SQUAT 20 REPSYou should have the seat set so you can achieve the greatest range of movement without discomfort. You should beusing the heaviest weight possible trying to reach 20 reps. the last 3 or 4 should seem almost impossible. When youfail, your spotter should force you through 2 more reps lowering the weight as slow as possible. You will pause atthe top of each movement. The weight should only lightly touch at the bottom of every rep. If you are doing barbellsquats, do a light warm-up set. You will be shooting for 20 reps on your heavy set. When fatigue sets in and your formstarts change, rack the weight and finish off with super slow manuals. 10 seconds down – 10 seconds up.6. LEG EXTENSIONS 12 REPSBe very strict with these reps. Pause at the top of each rep then lower the weight slowly. Keep constant tension on

19

the muscles. When you can no longer perform a rep on your own, have your spotter assist you until you can nolonger control the weight in the negative phase.7. LEG CURL 12 REPSQuickly begin leg curls. The reps should be done in the same manner as the extension. Have your spotter assistyou once again.8. CALF RAISES 15 REPSYou can use a calf raise machine or a leg press. Place the balls of your feet on the apparatus. Raise your heels untilyou are on your toes. Lower your heels and get a good stretch. Keep your knees locked and straight. When you areno longer able to move your heels you are done.9. ADDUCTION/ABDUCTION (GROIN/LATERAL HIP) 15 REPSIf you have a Nautilus Add/Abd. machine available, use it. If not, do these exercises manually. Both exercises shouldbe done with very slow controlled movements. When you achieve 15 reps with both exercises add 5 lbs.10. CRUNCHES11. BENCH PRESS OR INCLINE PRESS 10 - 8 REPSDo whichever exercise you prefer. You will perform 2 work sets. The first set choose a weight that causes you tofail on the 9th or 10th rep. On the second set choose a weight that causes you to fail on the 7th or 8th rep (you shouldhave to reduce the weight on the 2nd set by 10-20lbs.) Do a slow controlled movement. Don’t bounce the bar off yourchest. When you reach failure your spotter will help you do forced reps until you can no longer move. Each forcedrep will be followed by a slow controlled lowering of the weight. Once you can no longer move, fall off the bench anddo strict push-ups until you really can’t move.12. SEATED ROW 10 - 8 REPSUse a machine or dumbbells for this exercise. Perform 2 work sets just like Bench or Incline Bench.13. SEATED MILITARY PRESS 10 - 8 REPSUse Dumbbells, barbell, or machine. You will again perform 2 work sets done just like the first two exercises. Go tofailure on both sets. Heaviest weight should be used on first set and the weight reduced slightly for the second set.14. BODY WEIGHT CHINS/DIPS 12 REPSWhen you can do 12 perfect reps get a belt and add weight.15. BICEPS/TRICEPS 10 REPSCurls should be done with a thick bar if you have one available. If not use a straight bar or dumbbells. This should bedone strictly – no swinging of the bar – no arching of the back. When you fail, have your spotter help you withnegatives until you can’t hold the bar.

20

HORNET STRENGTH WORKOUT JUNE/JULY

PHASE II 6 WEEKS DAY 1

EXERCISE REPS

WT/REPS

WT/REPS

WT/REPS

WT/REPS

WT/REPS

WT/REPS

WEEK 1

WEEK 2

WEEK 3

WEEK 4

WEEK 5

WEEK 6

BODY WT.

LEG PRESS/SQUAT

20LEG EXT. 12LEG CURL 12LEG PRESS/SQUAT

10


MR NECK FLEX/EXT

12SHRUGS 12UPRIGHT ROW

12

BENCH PRESS

10BENCH PRESS

8ROW 10LATERAL RAISE

10FRONT RAISE

10PULLDOWN 10INCLINE PRESS

6INCLINE PRESS

10

21

BICEP/TRICEP

10JUNE/JULY TRAININGThe second phase will be for 6 weeks. You will have three different workouts – Monday, Wednesday, Friday (Day 1,Day 2, Day 3). This will be six weeks of INTENSE TRAINING!DAY #11. LEG PRESS/SQUAT 20 REPSThis is an all out effort with the heaviest weight possible. When you fail, jump off quick and run to the leg extension.If you do a barbell squat, stop the exercise when your form changes. Rack the weight and do three super slowmanual squats.2. LEG EXTENSION 12 REPSChoose a weight that you will fail on between 8-12 reps. These should be perfect reps – constant tension on themuscles through the entire exercise.3. LEG CURLS 12 REPSThese will be done in the same manner as the extensions.4. LEG PRESS 60% MAX REPSUse approximately 60% of the weight you used on #1. These are controlled reps doing as many as possible. Howtough are you?! Once again, if you are doing barbell squats when form goes, rack the weight and finish withmanuals. BE SMART!5. CRUNCHES6. LOW BACK-------------------------WATER--------------------------7. NECK FLEXION/EXTENSION 12 REPS8. SHRUGS 12 REPS9. UPRIGHT ROW 12 REPS10. BENCH PRESS 10-8You will do two sets. 10 reps – 8 reps. Rest 1 minute between sets. Sets 1 (10 reps) will be taken to positive failure.If you get the 10th rep go for 11, if you get 11, go for 12, so on. The last set you will go to positive failure and at least 3negative or forced reps. Go till you can’t move your arms.11. SEATED ROW 10 REPSUse a machine or dumbbells for this exercise. Get a good squeeze and contraction at the top of each rep.12 LATERAL RAISE 10 REPSThis exercise will isolate the medial (side) head of the deltoid. Do not hold back.13 MANUAL RESISTANCE FRONT RAISE 8-10 REPSYou can perform this exercise manually with a partner, with dumbbells, or with a plate.-------------------------WATER-------------------------14 PULL DOWN 10 REPSUse an Underhand grip on the Pulldown. Pull to the front just below the chest. Get a good stretch – Full Range.15 INCLINE PRESS 6-10 REPSYou will do 2 sets. The rest time is whatever it takes to change the WT. The first set of 6 reps is taken to positivefailure. The second set – 10 reps is all out – do at least 3 forced or negative reps.16 BICEPS/TRICEPS 10 REPSCurls should be done with a thick bar if you have one available. If not use a straight bar or dumbbells. This should

22

be done strictly – no swinging of the bar – no arching of the back. When you fail, have your spotter help you with

negatives until you can’t hold the bar.

HORNET STRENGTH WORKOUTJUNE/JULY


EXERCISE REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REPSWEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4 WEEK 5 WEEK 6

BODYWEIGHTMR NECKFLEX/EXT.

12

NECK RT/LF 12SHRUGS 12

LATERALRAISE

10

MR FRONTRAISE

10

PULLOVER 10DUMBBELLFLY

10

PULLOVER 10INCLINE DUMBELLFLY

10

LATERAL RAISE

10

REAR DELT 10EXTERNALROTATOR

12

LEG EXT. 12MR HIP FLEXOR

12

LEG CURL 12GROIN 12MR LATERAL HIP

12

CALF RAISE 15

CRUNCHES 15

BICEP/TRICEP 10

23

PHASE II – DAY #21. MANUAL NECK FLEXION/EXTENSION 12 REPS2. NECK RIGHT/LEFT 12 REPS3. SHRUGS 12 REPS4. 70 DEGREE ANGLE SHOULDER FLY OR LAT. RAISE 12 REPSIf you do not have a shoulder fly or an incline fly machine do a set of lateral raise for the shoulders. You can use a machine, dumbbells, or do them manually.5. MANUAL FRONT RAISE 6 –8 REPSStart the front raise immediately. If you go hard enough you will not get 8 reps. Go till you can not pick your arms up.6. PULLOVER 10 repsThe only exercise that isolates the lats and provides full range exercise. If there is no machine available performanother pulling movement instead.7. FLAT BENCH or MACHINE FLY’S 10 REPSIf you use dumbbells be careful. Get a comfortable stretch, and don’t bounce the weight out of the bottom.8. PULLOVER 10 REPSUse the same WT as the first pullover. Do as many perfect reps as possible then at least 3 negatives. Again if youdo not have a pullover machine use a pulldown or seated row..9. INCLINE FLY 10 REPS10. LATERAL RAISE 10 REPSIf you use a machine or dumbbells as soon as you fail put the WT down and do 3 manual reps.11. REAR DELT 10 REPSUse a machine, dumbbells, or manual resistance. This is a highly neglected area but a very important one for theupper back and stabilizing the shoulder. Don’t neglect this exercise.-------------------------WATER-------------------------12. EXTERNAL ROTATOR CUFF 10 REPS13. LEG EXTENSION 12 REPSYou will just go to positive failure today. No forced, or negative reps. But give an all out effort and beat the reps youdid on the last workout.14. MR HIP FLEXOR 12 REPSCall me if you’re unsure how to perform this exercise. Don’t skip it!15. LEG CURL 12 REPSThese will be done the same as the extensions. Positive failure only. The reps should still be smooth and controlled.16. ADDUCTION (groin) 12 REPSThis should be done smoothly. Try to get a good stretch at the widest point then squeeze the weight smoothly.If a machine is not available do manuals.17. ABDUCTION 12 REPS (LAT. HIP)Do these on a machine or manually.18. CALF RAISE – STANDING OR SEATED 15 REPS19. CRUNCHESPerform a wide variety of exercises for the abdominal region.20. BICEP/TRICEPIf you have a thick bar use it. If not use a straight bar or dumbbells. This should be done strictly – no swinging of the

24

bar – no arching of the back. When you fail, have your spotter help you with negatives until you can’t hold the bar.

HONRET STRENGTH WORKOUTJUNE/JULY


EXERCISE REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS

BODYWEIGHT WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4 WEEK 5 WEEK 6

MR NECK FLEX/ EXT.

12

SHRUGS 12

BODYWT.CHINS

MAX

SHOULDERPRESS

10

SHOULDERPRESS

8

SEATED ROW 10INCLINE PRESS

10

PULLDOWN 10BENCH PRESS

10

BENCH PRESS

6

LEG PRESS/SQUAT

10

LEG CURL 12LUNGES/SQUAT

10

LEG CURL 12LEG PRESS/SQUAT

10


25

BICEP/TRICEP

10

PHASE II – DAY #31. MR NECK FLEXION 12 REPS2. MR NECK EXTENSION 12 REPS3. SHRUGS 12 REPS4. BODYWEIGHT CHINS MAX REPSUse an underhand grip and perform as many rocket reps as possible. When you can’t perform another rep donegatives until you get a total of 10 reps. Use a band to assist if available.5. SHOULDER PRESS 10 – 8Same as the Bench Press routine on Day 16. SEATED ROW 10 REPS7. INCLINE PRESS 10 REPSIt’s Friday. Go hard on this workout. You can rest Saturday and Sunday.8. PULLDOWN 10 REPS9 BENCH PRESS 6 – 10 REPS2 Sets. Same as the incline press on Day 110. LEG PRESS/SQUAT 10 REPSFor this leg routine we will do three sets of leg press or squats with 10 reps each. The first set go to positive failure.*(Unless Squating). You should go from one exercise to the next with no rest while doing this leg routine. PUSHYOURSELF!!11. LEG CURL 12 REPS12. LEG PRESS/SQUAT 10 REPSGo to positive failure with one forced rep (only on a leg press)13. LEG CURL MAX + 3 FORCEDUse the same weight as the first set. Perform as many perfect reps as possible – Then have your partner take youthrough 3 forced or negative reps.14. LEG PRESS/SQUAT 10 REPSLast set is all out. Go as hard as possible. When you think you can’t move have your partner drop the weight and do5 more reps.15. CRUNCHES MAX REPS16. LOW BACK EXTENSIONS 15 REPS17. BICEPS/TRICEPS 12 REPS

26

HORNET STENGTH WORKOUTPHASE III 6 WEEKS DAY 1

JULY/AUG

EXERCISE REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS

WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4 WEEK 5 WEEK 6

BODYWEIGHT

LEG PRESS/SQUAT

15

LEG CURL 12HIP/Flex/Exten.

12

CALF RAISE 15


MR NECK FLEXION

12

SHRUGS 12

BENCH PRESS

10

BENCH PRESS

8

PULLDOWN 10LATERAL RAISE

10

REAR DELT 8SEATED ROW 10BW DIPS/CHINS

10

ROTATOR 8

27

CUFFBICEP/TRICEP 12

JULY AND AUGUSTThis is the last phase before fall. In order not to over train, we will cut back your lifting days to 2 days a week. These will stillbe very intense sessions. For some of you, your biggest strength gains will be made during this timeFollow the program presented below. Remember to give an all-out effort on each exercise.DAY #11. LEG PRESS/SQUAT 15 REPS2. LEG CURL 8-12 REPS3. MR HIP ABDUCTION (LATERAL HIP) 12 REPS4. CALF RAISES 20 REPS5. CRUNCHES 20 REPS6. LOW BACK 15 REPS7. MANUAL NECK FLEX/EXT 12 REPS8. SHRUGS 12 REPS9. BENCH PRESS 10 – 8 REPS10. PULLDOWN 10 REPS11. LATERAL RAISE 10 REPS12. REAR DELT 10 REPS13. BODYWEIGHT CHINS/DIPS MAX REPSDo as many perfect chins and dips as possible. Tight contraction at the top, 4 count down – controlled movementfrom the bottom. When you fail do at least 3 negative reps.PUSH YOURSELF!!!14. EXTERNAL ROTATOR CUFF 12 REPS15. BICEP/TRICEP 12 REPS

28

HORNET STRENGTH WORKOUT

JULY/AUG

PHASE III 6 WEEKS DAY 2

EXERCISE REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REPS WT/REPSWEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4 WEEK 5 WEEK 6

BODYWEIGHTMR NECK FLEX/EXT

12

UPRIGHT ROW

12

SHOULDERPRESS

10

SHOULDERPRESS

8

SEATED ROW 10INCLINE PRESS

10

CHEST FLY 10LAT PULLDOWN

10

PUSH-UPS MAXROTATOR CUFF

10

BICEP/TRICEP

12

LEG EXTENSION

12

MANUAL HIPFLEXOR

12

LEG CURL 12LEG PRESS/SQUAT

12

HIP Flex/Exten.

12

29

HIP ADDUCTION

12

AB CRUNCHES

MAX

DAY # 2

1. MANUAL NECK FLEX/EXTEN 12 REPS

2. UPRIGHT ROWS 12 REPS

3. SHOULDER PRESS 10 – 8 – 6 REPS

Same as Bench 10-8 routine. Each set ALL-OUT to failure.

4. SEATED ROW 10 REPS

5. INCLINE PRESS 10 REPS

6. CHEST FLY 10 REPS

Perform this exercise with dumbbells, machine or manually.

7. BODYWEIGHT CHINS/DIPS MAX REPS

8. EXTERNAL ROTATOR CUFF 12 REPS

9. LEG EXTENSION 12 REPS

Go to positive failure only. No forced reps.

10. MR HIP FLEXOR 12 REPS

11. LEG CURL 12 REPS

12. LEG PRESS/SQUAT 12 REPS

If you are performing barbell squats rack the weight when your form starts going bad.

13. HIP Flexion/ Extension 12 REPS

You need a machine to perform this exercise. Contact me if not available.

14. ADDUCTION (GROIN) 12 REPS

30

15. CRUNCHES 20 REPS

16. FOREARMS 15 REPS

III. STRENGTH TRAINING ROUTINES

#1- BARBBELL 10-8

DATE SEATUPPER BODY SET #1-10 REPS

SET #2-8 REPSALL SINGLE SET EXERCISES = 12 REPS

BARBELL BENCH PRESSBARBELL BENCH PRESSSEATED ROW

SEATED ROW

BARBELL INCLINE BENCHBARBELL INCLINE BENCHLAT PULLDOWN- underhandLAT PULLDOWN-underhandSEATED SHOULDER PRESSSEATED SHOULDER PRESS

SHRUGS

BICEP

TRICEP

31

GRIP

INJURY:

#3- DUMBBELL 10-8

DATE SEATUPPER BODY SET #1-10 REPS

SET #2-8 REPSALL SINGLE SET EXERCISES= 12 REPS

DUMBBELL BENCH PRESSDUMBBELL BENCH PRESSMACHINE LAT PULLOVERCHIN UPSDUMBBELL INCLINE BENCHDUMBBELL INCLINE BENCHDUMBBELL 1-ARM ROW (RT/LF)DUMBBELL SHOULDER PRESSDUMBBELL SHOULDER PRESSDUMBBELL SHRUGS

32

BICEPTRICEPGRIP

INJURY:

#5 DUMBBELL ELEVATORDATE SEAT

UPPERBODY ALL SINGLE SET EXERCISES = 12 REPS

DUMBBELL 1ST FLOOR (FLAT)CHIN-UPS

DUMBBELL 2ND FLOOR(15 DEGREE)

SEATED ROW

DUMBBELL 3RD FLOOR(30 DEGREE)CABLE PULLDOWN

DUMBBELL 4TH FLOOR(45 DEGREE)LATERAL RAISE

DUMBBELL 5TH FLOOR(60 DEGREE)DUMBBELL SHRUGS

BICEP

TRICEP

INJURY:

33

#2- MACHINE 10-8

DATE SEAT

UPPERBODY SET #1-10 REPSSET #2-8 REPSALL SINGLE SET EXERCISES = 12 REPS

MACHINE CHEST PRESS

MACHINE CHEST PRESS

LAT PULLDOWN-overhand

LAT PULLDOWN-overhand

MACHINE INCLINE PRESS

MACHINE INCLINE PRESS

SEATED ROW

SEATED ROW

MACHINE SHOULDER PRESSMACHINE SHOULDER PRESSLATERAL RAISE

REAR DELT

INJURY:

34

#4 PRE-EXHAUST

DATE SEAT

UPPERBODY ALL SINGLE SET EXERCISE = 12 REPS

MACHINE CHEST FLY

MACHINE CHEST PRESS

MACHINE LAT PULLOVER

MACHINE LAT PULLDOWNMACHINE LATERAL RAISEMACHINE SHOULDER PRESSSHRUGS

UPRIGHT ROW

BICEP CURL

8sec. NEGATIVE CHINS

TRICEP PUSHDOWN

8sec. NEGATIVE DIPS

35

LOWER BODY

DATE SEAT

LOWERBODY LEG PRESS/SQUAT- SET 1=12 REPS SET 2=10 REPS SET 3= 8 REPSALL OTHER EXERCISES = 12 REPS

LEG PRESS/SQUAT

LEG CURL

LEG EXTENSION

HIP ABDUCTION

LEG PRESS/SQUAT

HIP ADDUCTION

HIP FLEXION

CALF RAISE

MID-SECTION AB REPS= 15-20 REPSLOW BACK= 12 REPS

WEIGHTED CRUNCHES

ALTERNATING TOETOUCHES

LOW BACK EXTENSION

NECK REPS=12

36

MANUAL NECK- FRONT

MANUAL NECK- BACK

IV. STENGTH TRAINING

THE REPETITION

Perhaps the hardest idea for most athletes to come to grips with is how simple exercisereally is. Conflicting information, both commercial and personal, may leave an athlete confused.The fact is results can come from any type of progressive exercise, which is good because itallows for differences in a coach’s abilities and situations to produce at least some results.However, the potential to train people in different ways has athletes swimming through a sea ofinformation based on anecdotal evidence, past experience, “research” publications, and thecurrent program at “Big Time U”.Players looking for the “answer” to their strength training problems need only look at the waythey actually train. Do you work hard? Do you train consistently? Do you train during theseason? Is the training closely supervised? Can you do basic exercises? Can you perform arepetition properly? Before one goes about evaluating programs, set and rep schemes, the“exercise of the month”, or the latest in Eastern Block training “secrets”, one should make surethat the fundamentals are being done properly. The most basic part of strength training is theproperly performed repetition. It is also the most difficult to execute.Uninformed strength training can by mysterious. There are many “experts” willing to selltheir advice. “Magical formulas”, buzz works, organizations, and certification tests all serve tomake proper exercises appear as something which only a few people know the secret. Thepurpose of this manual is to show you how simple, practical and effective training can be. Youwill learn what you need in order to organize and implement effective training, but there aremany subtleties which are difficult to articulate and can only be learned by participating in andsupervising workouts.The fundamentals of exercise are such that you probably know more than you suspect. Toooften we leave common sense to the experts. Consequently, many coaches and athletes donot understand what the immediate consequence of strength training should be. They spendtime dreaming up complicated schemes and routines designed to develop nonexistent trainablemuscular properties such as “basic strength,” “speed strength,” “endurance strength,” and“explosion.” Despite all the theory, you cannot change the chemical composition of musclefibers by changing sets, reps, and speed of exercise movement. It is important to understandthat strength, power and short term muscular endurance are different expressions of the samething and are not separable training entities. If you improve one, you improve all three.The immediate goal of strength training exercise is to fatigue muscles. Think about thispoint for a moment. Now relate the implications to the way you train. A clear understanding ofthis point simplifies the evaluation of different exercises, equipment, and training schemes. Thebest methods produce the greatest amount of fatigue, in the shortest amount of time, and in thesafest way possible.The goal of a properly performed repetition is to produce tension in the muscle, whichrepeated for a short period of time will fatigue the muscle. To do this in the most efficientway possible we need to be aware of five coaching points:

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1. Raise the weight under control. Minimize momentum.2. Pause in the contracted position.3. Emphasize the lowering phase.4. Body position and leverage.5. Constant tension

1. Raise the weight under control.If you move a weight too quickly, it will increase in speed to the point of actually traveling onits own. The increase in momentum will take tension off the muscle, making the exercise botheasier and more dangerous, the two things one tries to avoid when training. Care must betaken to lift the weight slowly and under control. This does not mean that there will never be atime when you do not try to move the weight with as much effort as possible. As the exercisecontinues, the muscle gradually fatigues to the point that the force generating capabilities is notmuch greater than the weight it must overcome. At this point you can push, or “explode,” withas much effort as possible, but the weight will move slowly because of muscle fatigue andensuing decrease in strength. Therefore at the beginning of the set, you must hold backsomewhat. As the set continues, the repetitions will be performed with increasing effort, untilthe end, when the effort is maximum and speed of movement is very slow or nonexistent.According to the size principle of muscle fiber recruitment, small slow twitch fibers are recruitedfirst when the force requirement (weight) is low such as at the beginning of an exercise. Biggerfast twitch fibers are eventually recruited once the other fibers have fatigued and forcerequirements are high as in the last few reps of a set taken to exhaustion. The Motor Learningexperts state that it is the “intent” to move a weight quickly that will recruit and develop fasttwitch explosive fibers. Not that the actual weight itself has to move fast. In fact, if the weightcan be moved fast, it is not heavy enough to stimulate maximum gains in strength, or you areusing momentum. These are two factors that decrease the quality and effectiveness of anexercise. In practice, this means it should take at least one or two second to lift the weight. Thiswill insure safety and minimize momentum. To lift the weight any faster would be throwing it,and throwing weights will not do much to increase strength.2. Pause in the Position of Full Muscle Contraction.Once raised, the weight should be paused momentarily at the highest point, or where themuscles are in the fully contracted position. This serves two purposes. First, it helps minimizemomentum. Second, it develops strength through out the muscles full range of motion.3. Emphasize the Lowering Phase of the Lift.Lift the weight is one half of the exercise. Lowering the weight is the second half. Because youcan lower approximately 40% more than you can lift, you will use fewer muscle fibers in thelowering phase unless you 1) Allow more time to let the weight down or 2) Add more weightduring the lowering phase. A good rule is that it should take three to five seconds to lower theweight. Realize this time frame is only a guideline. Lowering the weight any faster would bedropping it, and just as throwing a weight up is an inefficient and dangerous way to train,dropping weights will do nothing to develop strength and muscle.Using the leg extension as an example, the exercise should be started slowly and smoothlyand raised at such a speed that the quadriceps are under tension throughout the full range ofmotion. At full extension, the athlete should pause for a second. If the weight stack “floats,”“recoils,” or travels on it’s own past the point of the momentary pause, then the weight was liftedtoo fast. After the pause in the contracted position, the trainee should slowly release the tensionon the muscle until the weight begins to lower at a constant speed. If the weight begins to

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accelerate, that is, the speed begins to increase while being lowered, then the weight is beinglowered too fast. When in doubt, lift and lower the weight slower, not faster.

4. Body Position and Leverage.Body position and leverage are the next important points for safe and efficient exercising ofthe muscles. Leverage on most exercises can be improved to make the exercise easier. Byarching the back, the bench press, seated press, arm curl and front raise exercises can beperformed easier. You can even use more weight and appear to be stronger. Lifting moreweight for the sake of lifting more weight, with no regard for how it is lifted, may be fine for theego, but does not necessarily translate to stronger muscles. Remember, if the leverage is right,you can lift the world. We have a leg machine in our facility that is very leverage dependent. Ifthe seat is adjusted two inches one way or the other, it may cause the athlete to be able to use+/- 50 pounds, and because of this we must be consistent with our seat position. The same istrue when the body is out of position while performing exercises. Since the goal of exercise is tofatigue the muscles, we should seek to make the exercise as hard as possible, which meansyou should use the leverage or body position which allows for the greatest range of motion,within reason of safety and comfort. Many athletes are unaware of their body when they lift.They squirm, twist, and use spastic motions while trying to obtain another rep. They adjust theirbody, seat height, or machine to give themselves better leverage. All of these adjustmentsserve to make the repetition easier.5. Constant TensionThe final coaching point is constant tension. This is a subtlety that separates skillful traineesfrom beginners. When performing exercise, the muscle should be forced to work through a fullrange of motion under a constant load. Too often trainees let their concentration slip as theexercise becomes uncomfortable and they seek relief by resting part way through the repetitionor bouncing the plates off the weight stack. Recalling the leg extension example, when theunskilled trainee begins to lower the weight and the lever arm approaches the lower half of therange of motion, they will sometimes let the tension off the muscle and the weight willaccelerate. Then, using this increased momentum, they will bounce the plates off the weightstack in order to get the exercise moving again. The trainee should lower the weight slowly andsmoothly and then “turn around” the weight in the same fashion.Pumping up a tire is an excellent analogy to keeping constant tension on the muscle. If youwhere trying to inflate the tire - trying to increase the pressure or tension in the tire to amaximum level - while somebody else was letting a little air out as you worked the tire pump,what would your results be? So it is with training muscles. You may get the job done, but in amuch less efficient manner than doing it the right way. This does not mean that we never takethe tension off the muscles we are working. It does mean that for as long as possible during aset we will keep constant tension on a muscle. When we cannot do any more perfectrepetitions we may then have to take a few breaths in order to continue. In exercises thatinvolve large muscle structures, such as a leg press, we may have to take several breaths. Wewill continue to record these reps, as long as the “pit stop” does not become excessive.

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Rep Replication.When you begin an exercise, the first rep you do is the most important. Your goal is to blockout all distractions and perform the perfect rep. The weight should be raised smoothly, pausedin the contracted position and lowered slowly to a full stretch. When you begin the second rep,it is now the most important and should be performed in the exact same manner as the first rep.Your goal is to replicate perfect repetitions. If we were to videotape a set of repetitions, weshouldn’t be able to notice a difference in the reps when the tape is played back.Keep in mind that the purpose of a properly performed repetition is to eventually develop alevel of strength we do not have. It is not to demonstrate a level of strength we wish we had.There are some exercises that have been touted as being great for training athletes that breakall three rules of a properly performed repetition. These include power cleans, snatches, pushpresses and a host of other Olympic lift variations. These lifts rely on momentum, leverage,complicated technique, little tension on the involved muscles, no constant tension, and nolowering portion of the exercise. Is this really a productive way to train? Decide for yourself.Most coaches are result oriented. Some believe the result of strength training should be tomake the weights go up and down. Some believe the result should be an athlete who canbench press a certain amount of weight and who can have their name on a record board. Butyour muscles do not care if the weights go up or down, or even if there are any weights at all.All the muscle cares about is how hard it is being forced to work. The immediate result ofproperly performed exercise should be greatly fatigued muscles. It all starts with the properlyperformed repetition.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF PROGRESSION The most important component of successful training is an unremitting desire to progress. Athletes and coaches sometimes become frustrated by the lack of gains “their program” delivers. This leads to a search for magical solutions, food supplements, exercises and equipment. The “program” will be changed, perhaps changing exercises, sets, reps, percentages or speed movement. After another period of unsatisfactory results, new gurus will be consulted and the program will change again. All the while, the answer to their problem is too simple to be seen.

Athletes sometime seek the “secrets of strength” from the Biggest Guy in the Gym. Their conversation will go something like this:

small guy: “I just can’t seem to get my arms to grow.”

Biggest Guy in the Gym: “What are doing for your arms now?”

small guy: “What you told me to do. Barbell curls - three sets of ten, cable curls - four sets of eight, triceps press downs - five sets of five.”

Biggest Guy in the Gym: (Looking up, thinking real hard) “Well, its obvious to me you need to be doing dumbbell curls for five sets of eight, preacher curls for 10-8-6-4 pyramid and lying triceps extensions super-setted with triceps push- downs.”

small guy: (Humbled and grateful to be in the presence of a weight guru) “Thanks for the advice, man. I can’t wait to try my new program. I know this one will work.”

And the small guy is off on his new program, conveniently forgetting that it was the Biggest Guy in the Gym that gave him his first program that produced unsatisfactory results in the first place. And the Biggest Guy in the Gym, enjoying the role of mentor, forgetting his original advice, never tells his students to train harder on the program they have.

We have quit relying on hand-me-down information. Do you really think you can change the chemical composition of muscle fibers by changing sets, reps and speed of movement? Muscles are not that smart. They do not have “eyeballs” that allow them to “see” a “program” or if the resistance comes from a machine or barbell. Yet many people have devised very complicated ways to train that are hard to understand, that they probably don’t understand, and we’re sure the muscles don’t understand. This has resulted in such things as pyramid up schemes, pyramid down schemes, power pairs, percentage training, five sets of five, and a favorite misguided approach - “periodization.” All these methods assume that there is a magical muscle making formula that you can just plug into and get results. Periodization takes the ridiculous to absurd by making the formula an almost epic-like journey that takes a person through distinct phases of “hypertrophy,” “basic strength,” “power” and “active rest.”

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Reality is something different. The body changes by a force of will. Strength training, to be productive, must be difficult and progressive. But the progression need not be difficult to understand. Each workout, on each exercise, try to increase the weight or the repetitions. This is called the double progressive method of overload and it is the most effective way to improve.

An athlete who could improve one repetition every workout would experience phenomenal gains. For example, let us say we are doing strict barbell curls in the 8 to 10 rep range on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Week 1

Monday 60 lbs. for 8 reps

Wednesday 60 lbs. for 9 reps

Friday 60 lbs. for 10 reps

Because we have reached 10 reps, it is time to go up a small amount

Week 2




Week 3




At first it does not seem like much is happening here, but let’s take a closer look. If we are training three times a week, that is 156 workouts a year. If we are going up in weight 5lbs. every 4 workouts...

156 workouts per year/4 workouts per increase = 39 increases.

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39 increased X 5 lbs. per increase = 195 lbs. per year!

Not bad for arm curls!

Is this possible?

No, it is not.

A more realistic approach is the following:

A beginner chooses the following exercises to train the majority of his body and performs the following maximum efforts on his first workout:

Leg Press - 200 lbs. for 10 reps.

Bench Press - 135 lbs. for 10 reps.

Pulldown - 130 lbs. for 10 reps.

Shoulder Press - 85 lbs. for 10 reps

Because our imaginary athlete is just beginning to train, he can make rapid increases in strength because he is getting more skilled at the exercises. Therefore, his next several training sessions may all go up in weight without even a drop in repetitions.

Workout 2

Leg Press - 210 lbs. x 10 reps.

Bench Press - 140 lbs. x 10 reps.

Pulldown - 135 lbs. x 10 reps.

Shoulder Press - 90 lbs. x 10 reps.

Training three times per week while adding 2.5 to 10 lbs. per exercise each workout, by the end of the second week he would perform the following:

Workout 6



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By this sixth workout, our beginning trainee increases the weight a large amount and experiences his first decrease in the number of reps he can perform with the new weight. He now uses the double progression method of trying to add a rep each workout, as shown in the previous example of arm curls. When he reaches ten repetitions, he adds five to ten more pounds. After two weeks of this he can perform the following:

Workout 12





After two months our trainee has learned how to train very hard, concentrate, grasp expectations, and force progression. He and his strength coach now decide to train each exercise twice a week to allow for recovery and growth from the higher amount of stress that the athlete is now capable of placing on his body. They keep with the double progression for the next month, performing the following after three months of training:

Workout 20





By this time, most trainees will have noticed that they respond slightly better to some rep ranges than others. In other words, they may find it very difficult to add a single repetition more, but they can continue adding small amounts of weight if they keep the repetition number the same. This probably has something to due with the fiber type make-up of each individual for

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each exercise, which will determine his fatigability. At this point, the strength coach and the athlete decide that they will continue to add a small amount of weight to the bar each workout, even if he is not able to increase the number of repetitions.

Workout 21





Our athlete continues like this for the next three months. He misses two weeks of training. One week for finals. (Well, he came in and blew off some studying stress, but we did not hold him 100% accountable for progression.) and one week for travel and holidays. So after 12 more weeks of training - six months total - our trainee performs the following:

Workout 45





Now, after six months of training, something drastic happens to the frequency of training for our athlete. A reduction in training to once a week occurs because his competitive season has started. Practice, travel, meetings and games limit the number of times he can train. (Though he tries to train twice a week, and usually does, once-a-week training will work nice for this example.) It also has the added benefit of allowing more recovery and growth between workouts, even though this is mostly compromised by the increase in practice and playing time. Lets also assume that our imaginary athlete misses two more weeks of training because of finals, travel and holidays. This gives us twenty-four more workouts of adding one to two pounds each time:

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Workout 99





Compared to the first workout, we have the following increase in training after only one year:

Leg Press - 200 lbs. to 376 lbs. = 88% stronger.

Bench Press - 135 lbs. to 218 lbs. = 61% stronger.

Pulldown - 130 lbs. to 223 lbs. = 71% stronger.

Shoulder Press - 85 lbs. to 159 lbs. = 87% stronger.

Average after one year of training = 76% stronger.

This is a very typical example of the progress our athletes make. A typical male athlete who had increased his strength that much will probably add 20 to 50 pounds of muscle heavier. A female athlete will be much firmer and leaner.

Nothing in the universe is literally infinite, and that includes your strength potential. Through our many years of experience, we have noticed that an untrained healthy athlete can just about expect to double his strength (100% increase) on each movement during the course of his career. Therefore, if you have never lifted weights, and you come to EDINA and perform 70 pounds for 10 repetitions on the leg curl machine, we would expect you to be able to curl 140 pounds for 10 repetitions before your four years at EDINA are over. And as you can see in the above example, approximately three-quarters of that improvement will happen in the first year. If you have trained that muscle hard before you arrive here, then your top end potential percentage of improvement relative to your initial starting weight will be less than double the initial training weights that we observe in an untrained muscle.

We have never seen an athlete who could increase a repetition every workout, but there will be times that your progress will amaze both yourself and your coach. For the more experienced trainee it can be frustrating training for weeks to add only one rep. But even if you add only one rep every three weeks, that is still twenty-five pounds a year, which would translate into one hundred pounds over the course of your career.

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A rep is a huge increment and needs to be broken down into an...inch!

Make every inch of every repetition count. Don’t cheat yourself by using momentum for one inch. Make progression the driving force in your workouts. Try to add one rep each time you train. Or try to add a half of a rep. Or six inches. Run a little longer. Sprint a step more. Improve one inch. Demand improvement from yourself each time you train. Refuse to replicate previous results.

In the short run you are trying to add reps. In the long run you are trying to add weight. Small increases over time will get you where you are trying to go, and when you can curl 150 pounds for ten strict reps, you arms will be a big and as strong as they will ever be. Do not look for magic. Ultimately, you will determine your results; not the program, the coach, or the equipment. Look to yourself - your motivation and effort - for the answers.

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INTENSITY and TIME Below a certain level of intensity, strength training will do little for you. If you are capable of lifting two hundred pounds for eight reps, and you stop at seven, it should be obvious that the exercise was not as productive as it could be.

The one thing that separates strength training exercise from other types of exercise, such as running or biking, is that it is much harder to do. The dramatic changes that occur in the body as a result of lifting weights are due to the intense nature of the exercise. There is simply no other way of working the muscles as hard with any other type of training.

Beyond what is needed for daily tasks, the body does not want to put on a large degree of muscle. The tissue is metabolically costly, meaning that you have to feed it to keep it alive. And of all things your body needs to do to survive, conserving energy is numero uno. It needs this energy to produce the heat that allows for daily living. In the Cave Man days, carrying an extra thirty pounds of muscle was of no advantage when the famine came! For this reason, to get stronger and more muscular, you had better give your body a real good reason to do so.

You must place your muscles in a critical situation. The effort level must be maximum. Your brain will only recruit the minimum of muscle fibers necessary to do the job. This is why you must do as many repetitions as possible. “As many as possible” is a confusing point for many young trainees. Some think that when the exercise is uncomfortable they have done as much as they can. Or they may think that when they have reached ten reps that is all they can do. Let’s set the standard right now. When you think you have done as many as you can, imagine that your life depends on you getting one more rep. Literally believe that if you do not get one more, you’re done for. If at this point you can’t do another rep, try to get a half of a rep more. Then try to get a quarter of a rep. Try to move the weight one-inch. When you cannot move the weight a fraction of an inch more, you have finished a proper set. You have successfully completed the exercise and you should feel proud of your effort.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can make up for this effort by doing more work at less intensity. Given enough time, almost any size muscle can do almost any amount of work. This is called labor and it has nothing to do with strength training.

As fatigue sets in on the playing field, you are gradually bringing more fibers into play. It could be during a long drive, the fourth quarter, or halfway through practice. If your training consists of a few heavy reps or stopping your exercise short of fatigue, you’ll eventually be using muscle fibers on the field that you didn’t strengthen in the weight room.

Suppose you have a stick of dynamite in front of you. If you took a hammer and lightly tapped it, nothing would happen. You could literally hit it forever without it exploding.

But one strike with enough force behind it will set off a huge explosion. And so it is with your strength training. The amount of work you do has nothing to do with your strength development.

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Muscles respond to tension over time. You can get stronger performing almost any number of reps. Performing only a few heavy reps is more dangerous, too time consuming, and not specific to the muscular needs of the athlete. The competitive weight lifter has needs specific to his sport, while the athlete has needs specific to his. The longer the tension is applied to the muscles, the more fibers that can be activated. Research and our experience shows that the best results will come from training the muscle to fatigue within the anaerobic time frame of approximately 30 to 90 seconds. Assuming about five or six seconds to complete a rep, this would be a rep range of about five to twenty. Each individual responds to some rep ranges slightly better than others depending on such factors as neuromuscular efficiency, muscle fiber type, and lever length. We will usually use about eight to twelve, though this can change for individual needs and variety sake.

There has been much written about the “best” set and reps scheme without anybody really defining what is being talked about. When discussing the number of reps, we are really talking about the amount of time. If someone states that five sets of five is the best set and rep scheme, are they not really saying that the best way to work the muscle is with two and half minutes of work broken up into five 30-second segments? When they then prescribe three sets of ten for another exercise, are they not saying that this muscle needs three minutes of work broken up into three 60-second segments? Why should it change for different exercises? The fact of the matter is that muscles don’t count reps. The majority of the research has indicated that one to three all out sets are equally effective.

There is no magical formulas in strength training. An athlete can spend 30 minutes in the weight room or three hours and accomplish the same thing. But as the intensity of the work increases, the amount of work must decrease disproportionately. For instance, if you were to walk at two miles per hour, you could continue that pace indefinitely. If you were to increase your speed to four-mph, you would be able to keep at if for about eight to ten miles. Double your speed again to eight-mph and two miles would be about all you could stand. Increase the pace to 16 mph and 200 meters will have you wiped out.

Not only must the amount of work decrease when the intensity increases, the frequency of the workouts must decrease also. Make no mistake about it, if you train hard enough to induce the physiological change you are looking for, you will need to recover from it. Plain and simple, the only people who can lift every day are those that don’t lift hard. While you maybe able to do a walking and jogging program every day, just try a hard sprint workout every day and see how long you last. You must recover from hard exercise, which is the only kind of exercise that can make dramatic changes in your body. For this reason, we never train more than three days a week.

Strength training at EDINA is not a recreational activity and this is not intramural athletics. Consequently, the amount of time you take between exercises will affect how much weight you can lift. If one lifter decreases the amount of time it takes to do his workout, he will find that he can’t use as much weight. And if another lifter increases the amount of time to do his workout, he will be able to lift more weight than if he takes less time. But if both lifters are increasing in strength, then it becomes completely relative.

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And when the slow worker decreases his rest time, he will find that he can do less, much less, than the athlete who had conditioned himself to move quickly through the workout. Decreasing the amount of time it takes to complete a workout is an excellent way to increase the intensity of the workout. It is also a great way to develop a “metabolic” conditioning that can be transferred to the playing field.

At EDINA sets are not terminated short of fatigue. Our workouts are brief by necessity. We ask too much of our athletes to have them do “a lot” of work. It is not that one to three sets per exercise and thirty to sixty minutes of lifting is the magical amount. It is all that can be tolerated. Inexperienced athletes who question the effectiveness of this have never experienced a properly supervised workout. We have supervised thousands of workouts of some of the toughest and strongest people around and we have never been asked to do three more sets of a leg press exercise. And we have never been asked if the workout could be repeated again. The name of the game is effort, and as a EDINA athlete you are expected to train as hard as possible.

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SUPERVISION and MOTIVATION Supervision and motivation will determine the results of the strength and conditioning program. A major advantage of the EDINA strength program is the ability to train many of our players on an individual basis. Whether 1st or 3rd team, you will be coached and supervised each and every workout by a strength coach or player.

Proper supervision ensures that the athletes are following all of the checkpoints of a properly performed repetition, training at the appropriate intensity, making progressions in weight and/or reps as needed, and that they are not performing exercise haphazardly. Supervision or coaching an athlete in our strength training facility is a skill that requires experience, practice, a general knowledge of proper strength training principles, and enthusiasm. We will never merely move from exercise to exercise, staring at the clipboard as our partner performs his set. Each and every set should be a charged, exciting event to try to ether increase the number of reps performed, increase the amount of weight used, or both. The following are guidelines to use when supervising an athlete through a set of an exercise:

1. “Coach” the athlete during his set. Make sure he is adhering to the checkpoints of a properly performed rep. If he is not, then the appropriate correction needs to take place

2. Encourage the lifter when the exercise is being performed properly and discourage when done improperly.

3. Use verbal encouragement. Find what “buttons” to push on the lifter that cause him to train harder.

4. When assisting, help just enough to keep the weight moving but do not lift the weight for him. Let the athlete earn the rep but at the same time do not allow the athlete to struggle with the weight to the point where the bar is beginning to reverse its direction.

5. Do not touch or place your fingers on the bar while the weight is being raised and lowered. If the weight is moving, keep your hands off it.

6. Do not invade a lifter’s space. Stand away, rather than in his face, until it’s necessary to step in and help.

7. Do not let the lifter “perform” for you. Force him to draw deeper into himself as the intensity of the exercise increases. Do not turn the lift into a dog and pony show.

Learning to become a competent strength-training spotter gives you greater insight into your own strength training. Spotting is a self-educating experience by which you can grasp expectations, justify every repetition, and gain a more practical understanding of human physiology and psychology.

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Competent supervision is a cultivated talent that evolves with practice and concentration. It is not simply assisting a partner. Even the highly motivated athlete benefits from an adept spotter. Spotting involves the investment of time, effort, and concentration into fellow team members. Learning how to spot will improve the quality of work performed. Informed athletes will increase their confidence in the program, stimulate a greater enthusiasm for training, and augment the credibility of the routine.

Each spotter should have an unrelenting desire to make the lifter better. There is no accepting less than a maximum effort. Other points a spotter needs to know include:

1. Sense of time: The greater the duration of the workout the less intensity of effort. Spotters need to be aware of the total workout time.

2. Target reps and weights: The spotter tells the lifter what is needed in order to improve on previous efforts.

3. Seat setting: consistent seat changes will avoid inconsistent performance.

4. Proper breathing: Lifters should never hold their breath while training. Do not be concerned when to breathe in or out. Be concerned with just breathing.

5. Expand the tolerance for physical discomfort.

Motivation is a true art form. Enthusiasm is contagious. Nobody wants to be around someone who acts tired, lethargic, listless and apathetic. The best way to motivate other people is to be motivated yourself. You should approach every workout, practice and meeting with enthusiasm. Anybody can yawn, close their eyes and think of a hundred reasons why they should be somewhere else. The surest way for a player to gain the respect of his teammates is to provide the excitement and encouragement that others can feed off of.

One of the best motivators of people is past success. This is one reason why we track our workouts carefully. Athletes who see improvements on an almost daily basis have a good reason to continue to train.

Credibility will also inspire your teammates and training partners. If you train hard, it is much easier to push the people you work with. Your credibility as a spotter and teammate is undermined if you do not train hard. As a leader in the business world, you will find that the best way to lead is by example. You will get the most work out of the people you supervise when they see you working.

External motivation in the EDINA weight room comes from many sources. We have great facilities and equipment, computer tracked workouts, stereo, CD player and loud music. You have teammates who train hard. All of these things help to make each workout as fun and productive as it can be. But external motivation can only sustain you for a while. Ultimately, you will have to reach into yourself for the true motivation that will carry you through your athletic career and then through your life. Think about why you play. Think about what it means to be an athlete. You have only one college career. Refuse to be average. Understand that as an EDINA player you are with a special, select group of people. If it was easy, then everybody would be doing it. Do not play at training. Make the most of it.

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RECORDING WORKOUT DATA During each workout, you should record the amount of weight lifted and the number of repetitions performed for each exercise. This helps eliminate the duplication of previous efforts and provides incentive for improvement. During a workout you will perform many exercises at varying repetitions and workloads. It will be quite difficult to recall from one workout to another the specific accomplishments of prior training sessions. You should follow these guidelines when recording results on a workout card:

1. Only record the properly performed reps. Do not record the reps you thought you did, wish you did, or had help. If you complete six perfect reps and your spotter helps you do three more, record six reps on the workout card.

2. Follow the order that the exercises are listed on the card. Selecting exercises haphazardly will lead to non-reproducible results.

3. Do not select exercises that are not listed on the card and do not only perform your favorite exercises. Most athletes like to choose exercises that they are good at doing. Truthfully, you stand to gain the most by performing the exercises you like to do the least. There is no one exercise that our athletes perform that is more or less important than another. If you ask some of our players how much they bench press or squat don’t be surprised if they tell you how strong their necks are or how much they lift with their hamstrings.

4. Be aware of the number of repetitions that were previously performed on the exercise you are doing. If during the last workout you completed nine reps on the lateral raise, the goal is now ten. Always refer back to the card. See what the last effort was and attempt to better it.

5. Understand that certain factors will affect the strength level of an athlete such as injury, time of the year (pre-season, mid-season, late-season), recent sleeping habits, eating habits, stress level and other environmental factors.

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IN-SEASON LIFTING The most important time of the year to strength train is during the season. While it is nice to be big and strong during the summer, you are not playing any games at that time. The most important time of the year to be at your strongest and most resilient to injury is during the competitive season. We evaluate the application of our program by how our team is training during the latter parts of the season. The number of athletes still lifting, the intensity of their effort, the exercises still being performed, and the amount of weight being used, is the strength program; not what was being done in January, March, or June. The body does not retain peak levels of strength, conditioning and skill very well. You must consistently expose yourself to the stress if you wish to keep or build on what you have. It makes no sense to train hard in the off-season if you are not going to train hard during the season. Whatever physical adaptations occurred during that time will have mostly disappeared by the end of the season. At Edina, we use the same exercises, sets, reps, speed of movement and intensity all year. We take what is the most effective way of training during the season, and use it during the off-season. Performing exercises in the off-season that we will not use in season is a waste of time. If you do not perform the exercise during the season, whatever physical adaptation you believed occurred will no longer be there when you need it most. This is the crucial criteria for us as coaches when evaluating new techniques, methods or technology. As a player, whenever you are exposed to new information, ask yourself if you can see yourself doing that activity during the season. If not, invest your time in something that you can use all year. Training during the season is part of having a training mentality. The only change to our in season program is that most of our players actually train harder. The competitive season can bring out a higher level of focus, concentration and effort. Many of our players will make their best strength gains during the season because of this. Older players who are at their genetic potential for strength may have difficulty increasing their strength during the season due to the increased stress of practice, games, meetings and travel. Our experienced players will tell you that training their lower body hard during the season actually allowed them to keep their legs fresh by the end of the year. We will never train to “maintain” strength. This places you in the wrong mind set. It is the equivalent of practicing only to maintain your skills. Everything at Edina is improvement orientated. Scheduling your training during the season can be difficult, if you allow it to be. We adjust our training frequency during the season to make sure you are not fatigued on game days. Travel will also dictate training days. Some players can lift great after practice. Most players cannot or will not train properly after practice. This is why we schedule most of our lifting in the morning before practice. During the season, you will have a choice of any twenty excuses why you cannot train properly. Truly competitive people will find the one reason to keep preparing. You are a competitor. This is why you chose to come to Edina.

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PROGRAM ORGANIZATION Pushing and Pulling Multi -Joint Exercises

To simplify our discussion of upper-body multi-joint exercise, we classify them as pushing and pulling movements. The only lower body multi-joint movements are the squat or squatting motions and leg presses.

The upper body pushing movements primarily train the pectorals, deltoids and triceps. An example of a pushing movement is a bench press

The upper body pulling movements primarily train the lats, rhomboids, posterior deltoids and the biceps. An example of a pulling movement is the seated row.

We identify five upper body planes that you can push and pull through. The other upper body movements are isolation exercises. Each of these planes should be incorporated (not necessarily every workout) to insure total body development. They are:

1. Vertical - above the shoulders 2. Incline 3. Horizontal 4. Decline 5. Vertical - below the shoulders

Listed below are examples of the pushing and pulling movements that can be performed though the five upper body planes:

Exercise Plane Pushing Pulling

Vertical - above shoulder Military Press Pulldown

Incline Incline Press High Row

Horizontal Bench Press Seated Row

Decline Decline Press Low Row

Vertical - below shoulder Dips Upright Row

Single Joint Exercises

A single joint exercise isolates a muscle group or area of the body. The advantage of a single joint exercise is that the muscles being exercised are forced to perform all of the work, therefore making those muscles train much harder. For maximum muscle development and protection against injury, isolation movements are a must for all muscles.

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One of the best isolation exercises is the Pullover Machine. The shoulder joint is the only joint involved. The resistance is applied on the backside of the upper arm, thereby eliminating the weak link of the hands and biceps. This movement allows an athlete to train his upper back - the largest, strongest muscles in his upper body without limiting the resistance due to the weaker muscles of the hands, forearms and biceps.

In our program we incorporate a wide variety of rotary movements through many different exercise planes. These are our upper body single joint exercises.

Muscle Group Single Joint Exercise

Chest Chest Fly - various angles

Back Pullover

Shoulder

-Lateral Head Lateral Raise

-Anterior Head Front Raise

-Posterior Head Rear Delt

-Rotator Cuff Rotator Cuff (man. res.)

Traps Shrug

A well-rounded program that is specific to the needs of a competitive athlete must include multi-joint and isolation movements.

MULTIPLE SET ADAPTATIONS At one time we believed that the number of sets that were completed would determine the strength gain. We have since learned that an athlete can do one set or ten sets and get stronger. He can also do one set or ten sets and not get stronger. The determining factor is the intensity level at which the set is performed.

Some of our athletes enjoy multiple sets. For those that want to do more than one set, the same rules apply. Perform ten sets if you must, but do not change the way that the rep is performed or the intensity of the set. Record the amount of weight used and the number of properly performed reps for each set. Add weight whenever possible. Don’t pace yourself by holding back and saving energy for the next set. Use a weight that causes failure on each set.

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Do not decrease the intensity of an exercise when more than one set is performed. Sub-maximal efforts will produce sub-maximal gains in strength. Listed below are examples of less effective techniques when more than one set is performed.

Less efficient multiple set technique #1.

If you can use the same weight for three sets of eight reps (or whatever number of reps are selected), the weight is too light on the first set.

Set # 1 - 225 lbs. x 8 reps



After you have warmed up, use as much weight as you can properly handle each set. Select a weight that causes failure by the eighth rep (or whatever number of reps is selected). The weight must decrease each set if a maximum effort is exerted.

Less efficient multiple set technique #2.

Another less effective technique we used in the past was to add weight after each set was performed. Why use 205 pounds on the first set if you are able to use 245 pounds on the third set?




If you can lift 245 pounds for eight reps on your third set, lifting 205 pounds for eight reps during your first set is a waste of time. Use as much weight as you can properly handle each set.

An efficient multiple set example.

For maximum gains, use as much weight as you can handle on the first set, the second set, the third set, and for each additional set you perform.

Each succeeding set the weight must decrease if the first set was an all out effort.

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Once you have warmed up, don’t waste your time and energy doing meaningless sets. Use as much weight as you can handle and continue the set until you can’t do another rep.

It is the quality of each set performed that dictates the results, not the number of sets performed.

One properly performed set is all that is needed to stimulate maximum gains in size, strength, mass, power, speed, explosion and any other physical attribute dependent on strength. If you must perform additional sets, do not sacrifice the quality of your exercise. If multiple sets are performed, you must decrease the number of exercises in any given workout. The body cannot recover from a large amount of high intensity exercise.

For variety, we have a 10-8 , a 6-6-6 , and an 8-6-4 multi-set routine using different pieces of equipment. We use the heaviest weight possible for a set of ten reps, a set of eight reps, and a set of six reps - decreasing the weight for each set. We use 90 seconds rest between sets.

The quality of exercise of our multi-set routines is identical to our standard routines. After warming up, the first set of will be your heaviest. You will not be capable of using the same weight for the second set (eight reps) if:

1. A maximum amount of weight was used on the first set. 2. You rest only 90 seconds between sets

As a general rule, we don’t perform multiple sets with pulling movements. With high intensity exercise, the smaller muscles of the hands, forearms and biceps become exhausted preventing any additional productive work for the large upper back muscles.

We also limit single joint isolation movements in our multi-set routines to prevent the workout from becoming too long and diluted.

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UPPER BODY ROUTINES We have up to 11 upper body routines that we rotate through. The Push/Pull Routine (Day 1) is compatible to a dumbbell routine. The movement arms move separately forcing each side of the body to do all the work. The Pre-Exhaust routine isolates a muscle before performing a pushing or pulling movement. Pre-exhausting a muscle before doing a pushing or pulling movement will enhance the intensity of exercise for that body part. We have a No-Hands routine that incorporates only our isolation movements. This routine is primarily used during the season when there is an injury to the finger, wrist, or elbow and it is impossible to push or pull. You may like some routines better than others. Some players rotate routines each workout for maximum variety, and others select several that provide adequate variety and total body development. Each of our routines contains approx. the same volume of work. All upper body routines include a total of 90 – 98 reps, regardless of the equipment used or number of sets performed. Our upper body routines include both multi-joint movements through each pulling and pushing plane, as well as isolation exercises. Listed are some of the upper body routines we use.

HORNET STRENGTH TRAINING ROUTINESROUTINE #1

HAMMER INDYROUTINE #2

HAMMER PUSH/PULLROUTINE #3

PRE-EXHAUSTHAMMER INDY BENCHHAMMER INDY ROWHAMMER INDY INCLINEHAMMER INDY HIGH ROWHAMMER INDY SH. PRESSHAMMER INDY PULLDOWNHAMMER LATERAL RAISENITRO REAR DELTHAMMER INDY DECLINEEXTERNAL ROTATOR CUFF

HAMMER BENCH PRESSNAUTILUS PULLOVERHAMMER DIPSHAMMER PULLDOWNHAMMER INCLINEHAMMER ROWAVANGER SEATED PRESSHAMMER REAR DELTHAMMER LATERAL RAISEEXTERNAL ROTATOR CUFF

NAUTILUS 10 DEGREE FLYHAMMER INDY DECLINEHAMMER PULLOVERCABLE PULLDOWNHAMMER LATERAL RAISEHAMMER SEATED PRESSSTRAP UPRIGHT ROWNITRO REAR DELTHAMMER INDY ROWBODYWEIGHT DIPS

ROUTINE #4BARBELL 10-8

ROUTINE #5BARBELL 3X6

ROUTINE #6BARBELL PUSH/PULL

BARBELL BENCHBARBELL BENCHHAMMER PULLOVERCABLE PULLDOWNBARBELL INCLINEBARBELL INCLINEHAMMER REAR DELTHAMMER INDY ROWHAMMER LATERAL RAISEHAMMER SEATED PRESSHAMMER SEATED PRESSEXTERNAL ROTATOR CUFF

BARBELL BENCHBARBELL BENCHBARBELL BENCHHAMMER LOW ROWBARBELL INCLINEBARBELL INCLINEBARBELL INCLINEHAMMER PULLDOWNDUMBBELL SEATED PRESSDUMBBELL SEATED PRESSNITRO REAR DELTLATERAL RAISE

BENCH PRESSHAMMER LOW ROW

DUMBBELL 2nd FLOORCABLE LAT PULLDOWNHAMMER INDY INCLINEHAMMER INDY I-ARM ROWWEIGHTED DIPSCABLE LAT PULLDOWNAVENGER SEATED PRESSSHOULDER TREEEXTERNAL ROTATOR CUFF

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HORNET STRENGTH TRAINING ROUTINESROUTINE #7

DUMBBELL ELEVATORROUTINE #8

DUMBBELL 10 - 8ROUTINE #9NO- HANDS

DUMBBELL 1ST FLOORHAMMER REAR DELTNAUTILUS 10 DEGREE FLY

DUMBBELL 2ND FLOORHAMMER PLLOVER

DUMBBELL 3RD FLOORHAMMER ROW

DUMBBELL 4TH FLOORLATERAL RAISE

DUMBBELL 5TH FLOORUPRIGHT ROW

DUMBBELL INCLINEDUMBBELL INCLINENAUTILUS PULLOVERHAMMER INDY PULLDOWNDUMBBELL SEATED PRESSDUMBBELL SEATED PRESSNITRO REAR DELTHAMMER INDY HIGH ROWNITRO PEC FLYDUMBBELL BENCHDUMBBELL BENCH

NAUTILUS 10 DEGREE FLYHAMMER PULLOVERHAMMER LATERAL RAISEHAMMER REAR DELTNITRO PEC FLYNAUTILUS PULLOVERMANUAL LATERAL RAISENITRO REAR DELTMANUAL FRONT RAISEEXTERNAL ROTATOR CUFF

ROUTINE #10HAMMER INDY 10 - 8

ROUTINE #11MACHINE 10 – 8

ROUTINE #12LEG SEQUENCE

HAMMER INDY DECLINEHAMMER INDY DECLINEHAMMER REAR DELTHAMMER INDY ROWHAMMER INDY INCLINEHAMMER INDY INCLINEHAMMER PULLOVERHAMMER INDY PULLDOWNHAMMER LATERAL RAISEHAMMER INDY SEAT PRESSHAMMER INDY SEAT PRESS

HAMMER BENCH PRESSHAMMER BENCH PRESSNITRO REAR DELTHAMMER ROWHAMMER INCLINEHAMMER INCLINENAUTILUS PULLOVERCABLE PULLDOWNMANUAL LATERAL RAISEAVENGER SEAT PRESSAVENGER SEAT PRESS

LEG PRESS / SQUATLEG CURLHIP EXTENSION / RDLLEG PRESS / SQUATLEG EXTENSIONLEG PRESS / SQUATHIP ADDUCTIONHIP ABDUCTIONCALF RAISETIBIA FLEXION

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LOWER BODY ROUTINES

We will choose from several multi-joint squatting motion exercises in our facility. We have found through many years of experience that different body types and orthopedic considerations do not allow for one type of movement to fit all of our athletes. No one exercise will work for every player. No one exercise is vastly superior to the other. An athlete must be able to perform the movement both safely and at the absolute highest level of effort. Multi-Joint Squatting Motions

1. XPload Leg Press 2. Nautilus ONE Leg Press 3. Trap bar Deadlift 4. Barbell Squat 5. Iso-Lateral One Limb Leg Press

Isolation Exercises - Knee 1. Leg Curl Machine - Various 2. Leg Curl Machine - Iso Lateral One Leg 3. Leg Extension Machine- Various 4. Leg Extension - Iso Lateral One Leg

Isolation Exercises - Hip 1. Buttocks - Stiff Leg Dead Lift, Hip and Back, Abductor Machine 2. Hip Flexors - Hip Flexion 3. Groin - Adductor Machine

Isolation Exercises - Ankle 1. Gastrocnemius- Straight legged calf raise 2. Soleus - Seated Calf Raise 3. Tibia Flexor - Tibia Flexion 4. Inversion/Eversion – Inner and Outer Ankle

Due to the overlap of many of the exercises and the amount of running that we require, we have found that athletes attempting to do all of the isolation exercises each workout quickly over train. Through many years of experience, the lower body routine we now use takes into consideration the following:

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1. Multi-Joint Squatting Motion - Body type, orthopedic concerns and preference

2. Single Joint - Knee - Both Extension and Curl. Our experience dictates that due to the nature of the sport, it is necessary to have the ability to train one limb at a time when needed.

3. Single Joint Hip - Pick one exercise 4. Single Joint Ankle - Pick one exercise

Our typical leg routine is a “mix and match” of equipment, need and preference. The following are three examples of many possible routines. Lower Body Sequence Routine 1 Routine 2 Routine 3 Multi-Joint Squat Motion Indy Leg Press Squat Machine Leg Press Single Joint - Hamstring Leg Curl Machine Indy One Leg Curl MR Leg Curl Single Joint - Quadriceps MR Leg Extension Leg Extension Mach Indy One Leg Ext Single Joint - Hips Groin Machine Hip and Back Mach Abductor Mach. Single Joint - Ankles Straight Leg Calf Raise Seated Calf Raise Tibia Flexion

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NECK ROUTINE For all of our athletes involved in contact sports, we place a premium on neck training. This is by far the most important thing we do in the weight room. As much as possible, we will train our necks before we train the rest of our body. 4-way Neck Machine

1. Neck Flexion 2. Neck Extension 3. Lateral Flexion (left and right) 4. Shrugs – machine, barbell, or dumbbell

MID SECTION ROUTINE The mid section is frequently ignored. In order to maximize performance and protection it must be isolated and trained.

Abdominal - Choice of one - Ab machine, Rotary Torso, Side Bend, Manual Sit-up or Reverse Crunch Low Back - Choice of one - Low Back Machine, Torso Extension, Hip and Back, Dead Lift

ARM ROUTINE Biceps - Choice of one - Machine Curl, Barbell Curl, Dumbbell Curl, Manual Curl Triceps - Choice of one - Machine Triceps, Triceps Pushdown, Manual Triceps

Hands and Forearms - Choice - Gripper, Wrist Curl, Reverse Wrist Curl, Roller etc.

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STRENGTH TRAINING PRINCIPLES The five check points below are an outline of our philosophy of effective and progressive training. Maximum gains will be obtained if these 5 check points are observed.

1. Full range of motion exercises - raise and lower the weight through the muscles full range of motion.

2. Allow the muscles to raise the weight-eliminate all arching, bouncing, throwing, and jerking movements while raising the weight.

3. Emphasize the lowering of the weight:

A. Lower the weight in a controlled manner. Allow the muscle to lower the weight-Do not drop the weight.

B. The muscle that is used to raise the weight is the same muscle used to lower the weight - Use 3-5 seconds as a guideline to lower the weight.

C. You can lower approximately 40% more weight than you can raise.

D. Allow 8 seconds to lower the weight during the negative-only exercise.

4. Each set must be performed with an all-out effort to momentary muscular exhaustion. Exercise until you cannot perform another rep with proper form.

5. Supervision - Athletes should be paired off so that every repetition of each exercise is supervised to guarantee proper execution. Responsibilities of the spotter include:

A. Prevent injury - No arching, bouncing, or jerking of the weights.

B. Record all pertinent workout data on a workout card.

C. Only record the good reps lifted - not the forced or negative reps.

D. Verbally encourage the lifter to exert an all-out effort while utilizing the techniques mentioned above.

E. Make the workout as hard and intense as possible for the lifter.

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SEVEN STRENGTH TRAINING VARIABLES

1. HOW MANY REPS? Perform 6 to12 reps for the upper body and lower body unless designated otherwise on workout card. NOTE: Only record the number of properly performed reps on the workout card. 2. HOW MUCH WEIGHT?

Use as much weight as possible (once the proper lifting techniques have been learned) so that the point of MMF has been reached between 30 and 60 seconds or from 6 to 12 repetitions. Selecting a starting weight is trial and error. Important: The key below will tell you when and if you should add weight for your next workout.

3. HOW MANY SETS? Perform as many sets as the workout calls for (anywhere between 1 and 3). 4. HOW MUCH RECOVERY?

When performing one set do not have a resting time - use only the time needed to move to the next exercise as recovery time. When performing multiple sets allow 90 seconds rest interval between sets.

5. HOW OFTEN? Two to three workouts per week on alternating days

6. WHICH EXERCISES? The exercises performed will depend upon the equipment available to you. Which exercises you perform is not the key to the strength gains, it is how you Perform the exercise that is the most important.

7. IN WHAT ORDER? Follow the order that is outlined in your summer packet.

A. We will place a strong emphasis on the Neck if you are involved in contact. Perform at minimum Neck Flexion; Neck Extension; Shoulder Shrug

B. **If you have a machine also perform: Lateral Flexion - Left and Right. C. B. The next area to work would be the Legs and Lower Back. These D. Muscles are used the most when playing no matter what position is being played. E. C. After performing exercises for the neck and legs we will then exercise the F. Torso (Upper Body). For the Torso perform the exercises for the G. Deltoids, Lats, and Pectoral Muscles. Perform at least 2 exercises (6 H. total) for each of those three muscle masses. I. D. When exercising the muscles of the Arms, perform 1 exercise each for the

Biceps, Triceps, and Forearms. J. E. When exercising the Abdominal Muscles perform 1-2 exercises. K.L. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER, OUR TYPICAL ROUTINE

CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING…

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Exercise Reps Exercise Time Rest Interval

NECK

Shrugs 12 reps 60 seconds 15 sec.

Neck Flexion 12 reps 60 seconds 15 sec.

Neck Extension 12 reps 60 seconds 15 sec.

Lateral Flexion R/L 24 reps 120 seconds 15 sec.

Total 60 reps 5 min. 60 sec.

Drink of Water 60 sec.

HIPS & LEGS

Leg Press/Squat 12 reps 60 seconds 1 minute 30 sec.

Leg Curl 12 reps 60 seconds 1 minute 30 sec.

Hip & Back 12 reps 60 seconds 1 minute 30 sec.

Leg Exten. 12 reps 60 seconds 1 minute 30 sec.

Hip Adduct. 12 reps 60 seconds 1 minute 30 sec.

Calf raise 12 reps 60 seconds none

Total 72 reps 6 minutes 7 minutes 30 sec.

Drink of Water 60 seconds

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MIDSECTION

Ab Crunch 15 reps 75 seconds 1 minute 30 sec.

Back Extension 12 reps 60 seconds 1 minute 30 sec.

Total 27 reps 2 minutes 15 sec. 1 minute 30 sec.

Drink of Water 60 seconds

UPPER BODY

Chest Exercise 10 reps 60 seconds 1 minute 30 sec.

Chest Exercise 10 reps 60 seconds 1 minute 30 sec.

Back Exercise 10 reps 60 seconds 1 minute 30 sec.



Shoulder Exercise 10 reps 60 seconds 1 minute 30 sec.

Shoulder Exercise 10 reps 60 seconds 1 minute 30 sec.

Rotator Cuff 10 reps 60 seconds 1 minute 30 sec.

Total 80 reps 8 min. 12 minutes Drink of Water 60 seconds

ARMS

Biceps 10 reps 60 seconds 1 minute 30 sec.

Triceps 10 reps 60 seconds none

Total 20 reps 2 minutes 1 minute 30 sec.

TOTAL 259 reps 23min. 15sec 26 minutes 30sec

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HOW TO PERFORM AND RECORD STRENGTH TRAINING WORKOUTS

HOW MUCH WEIGHT TO START WITH The First Set: The first time you perform any of the workouts, you must ESTIMATE a weight to start with for each exercise. The objective is to use a weight which you are able to reach the “goal rep”, but unable to reach further reps. The Second Set: Always use same weight as the first set. Only increase the weight if reps additional to the “goal rep” were possible with the first set’s weight. WHEN TO INCREASE THE WEIGHT FOR THE NEXT WORKOUT The First Set: The amount of weight you will use the next time you perform the workout is based on the FIRST set (Not the SECOND). When you finish the first set of an exercise, you must decide whether or not to increase the weight for the next workout. Write this weight in the next column on the workout card immediately upon completion of the first set as follows: When goal reps could not be reached: DO NOT increase the weight for the next workout. When goal reps are reached, but not easily or with poor technique, DO NOT increase the weight. When goal reps are reached with proper technique: INCREASE WEIGHT by 5LBS. (10LBS. for Leg Press or Squat). The Second Set: Always use the same weight as the first set (only increase the weight if the first set was not challenging) RECORDING WORKOUTS The following are examples of how to fill out the workout card during a workout. If goal reps of 10 were reached on the first set, increase 5 lbs. for the next workout:

EXERCISE DATE DATEBARBBELL BENCH PRESS 225-10 230

225-8

If goal reps of 10 were NOT reached on the first set, DO NOT increase the weight for the next workout:

EXERCISE DATE DATEBARBBELL BENCH PRESS 225-9 230

225-8

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MANUAL RESISTANCE- MAXIMUM MUSCLE WITHOUT EQUIPMENT

Manual Resistance is an alternative to the more conventional forms of resistance in the strength training program. The resistance is provided by a training partner, or spotter, rather than a bar or a machine. This style of training could be incorporated into your regular workouts or in situations where no equipment and/or facilities are available. Here at Edina we use Manual Resistance (MR) training extensively in all phases of our strength program. Whether as an exercise in our regular workouts or as the only available training “tool” at home, on vacation, or on the road traveling, MR has definitely proven itself as a valuable form of strength training. ADVANTAGES OF MANUAL RESISTANCE There are many advantages to using MR. Some of the more obvious reasons include: 1. No equipment is required to perform the exercises. Since no equipment is needed these exercises can be performed any time and any place. A coach, for example, can administer the program on the field, court or diamond. The Physical Education instructor can hold his class indoors or outdoors. The point to be remembered is that MR exercises can be performed anywhere. Waiting to use equipment is no longer a problem with MR. Once an individual has been exposed to MR, conditioning the muscles can be a lifelong activity. No longer will a lack of equipment be an obstacle 2. Large numbers of individuals can be trained simultaneously. Two people or two hundred people can perform the exercises simultaneously. One person exercises while the other supplies the work load. To the coach or PE instructor who has experienced the frustration of overcrowded facilities, MR is a godsend. 3. The muscles can be worked maximally each rep. Maximum resistance can be obtained during the raising and lowering phase of each rep. If the lifter can raise 80 pounds on the first rep, the spotter can apply 80 pounds worth of resistance. If the lifter can lift five pounds of resistance on the last rep, the spotter can accommodate this decreasing strength level accordingly. This is an advantage because it reduces the level of strength closer to the point of zero. More of the muscle is brought into play, thereby causing a greater overload. 4. The speed of the MR exercise can be controlled. The rate of resistance during the raising phase will be dictated by the amount of resistance applied by the spotter. The lifter’s partner or the instructor can decide upon the speed of exercise during the raising phase.

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DISADVANTAGES OF MANUAL RESISTANCE With all of its advantages, MR also has some distinct disadvantages. Every type of equipment available has advantages and disadvantages. By recognizing the limitations of MR, it can help provide a safer and more effective form of exercise. A better understanding of the exercise will also be realized. The major limitations of MR include: 1. Two people are needed to perform any MR exercise. A lifter and a training partner to apply the resistance are required to perform each exercise. This can be a problem for some fitness enthusiasts (e.g. The working person may want to work out during the lunch hour and perhaps a training partner is unavailable; A team or fitness class may have an odd number of students and this would leave one student without a partner.) 2. The lifter must learn how to perform each exercise. Before maximum gains can be obtained, the lifter must learn how to perform each exercise. This is also a problem when any new exercise using equipment is performed. Due to the uniqueness of the MR style of exercise, the learning process of performing the exercise probably creates more problems for the inexperienced lifter than will a conventional exercise performed on equipment. The lifter must also learn to coordinate the exercise with the spotter. 3. The spotter must learn how to safely and effectively apply the resistance. The spotter’s job is even more difficult than the lifter’s. The training partner is the key to any strength building program but the effectiveness of any MR exercise is totally dependent upon the abilities of the spotter. Equipment can help minimize the risk of injury occurring while an individual is performing an exercise. The risk increases whenever the lifter must rely entirely upon a partner to provide the resistance. Instructors can minimize the risk by taking the time to learn how to utilize this form of exercise and then educating their students sufficiently. It’s just like teaching a student-athlete how to block, rebound, perform somersaults, or to do other potentially dangerous skills. Everything demands proper instruction. The instructor should initially treat MR exercise as any other potentially dangerous activity. Remember that it is the ability of the spotter that dictates the quality of the exercise. There is a specific skill required. Some spotters develop a high skill level to spot effectively, while some develop lower skill levels. An educated lifter will immediately notice the skill level of the spotter. A lower skill level will obviously decrease the effectiveness of the exercise. 4. The lifter may be significantly stronger than the spotter. When pairing off participants, it’s possible that one training partner may be significantly stronger than the other. This can present a problem for the weaker individual.

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5. Accountability. The lifter may ask, “How will I know how much strength I am gaining from workout to workout?” Unfortunately, accountability will always be a problem. With MR you cannot record and evaluate strength gains as you can with a barbell or machine. You are forced to rely upon your spotters to do their job. When they do, the lifter will be assured of gaining strength. Note: Sure, there are limitations to manual resistance. However, these limitations can be overcome by instructors who are willing to invest a little time in developing the ability to teach these exercises and in providing as much supervision as possible during their execution. RESPONSIBILITIES OF INSTRUCTOR 1. Thoroughly understand the responsibilities of the spotter and lifter. The instructor should develop and in-depth understanding of how to apply the MR concepts. These exercises can not be spotted and performed in a haphazard manner. Unfortunately, more often than not, this is the rule rather than the exception. If this occurs the potential results from the exercise will be reduced and the risk of injury to the lifter will be increased. Note: Thoroughly read the guidelines enclosed and develop a detailed understanding of how to safely and effectively spot and perform each exercise. 2. Perform the exercises with another instructor in order to develop the skills needed to spot and perform each exercise. It’s obvious to every coach and physical educator that doing something is better than talking about it. Unfortunately, few instructors are willing to actually practice doing the MR exercises. The exact skills to apply the resistance and perform the exercises will not be developed unless instructor practices what he preaches. Note: There is nothing overly demanding about the skills needed to spot and perform each exercise. Something will be lost, however, from the instructor to the student if the instructor doesn’t experience of the problems encountered. 3. Minimize the loss in the interpretation of this information from the instructor to the student. The instructor’s first responsibility is to adhere to the aforementioned rules. The eventual quality of MR exercise performed by the participants will be determined by how well the instructor prepares himself and by how well that information is taught to the students. This is not the type of information that is posted on the weight room bulletin board. Initially, constant supervision by the instructor is necessary to eliminate any confusion. Ideally, the instructor should discuss all of the concepts enclosed and then spot each student through the exercises until they have mastered the skills required.

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Note: The instructor can teach one thing and the student may interpret it differently. Instructors must minimize the loss in translation to the students. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE LIFTER For manual resistance to be safe and effective, the lifter must assume some responsibilities during the execution of each repetition. These responsibilities include the following four rules: 1. Communication with the spotter is essential. Total cooperation and coordination between the lifter and the spotter are essential. For maximum gains and safety you may have to tell the spotter how to provide more efficient resistance. Cooperation with the spotter is needed for smooth and even resistance. Until the spotting and lifting skills have been mastered, the lifter may have to talk to the spotter. For example, “You’re not providing enough resistance on the lowering phase.” Or, “You’re pulling too hard in the stretched position.” 2. Keep tension on the muscles. The relief of muscle tension for just an instant will allow the muscle to momentarily rest - and make the exercise less productive. Allowing the muscles to relax briefly is a common occurrence during the lateral raise if the hands are allowed to touch the sides of the legs. This gives the muscles a brief rest and makes the exercise less productive. Another example would be the conventional push-up exercise. The muscles are allowed a brief rest if the chest, thighs, or mid-section touch the ground. Ideally, the hands should be elevated off the ground to prevent resting between repetitions. 3. Pause momentarily in the contracted position. The lifter should hold the contracted position momentarily during the execution of each repetition. If the lifter doesn’t hold this position momentarily, he will not maximally develop the muscle at each point during that range of motion. The pause also gives the spotter time to begin applying the more resistance required for the lowering phase while in the transition from the raising phase of the exercise to the lowering phase. An example of this concept is the bent over side lateral raise. The lifter must stop and hold the contracted position momentarily. A good guideline would be to hold the position for a count 1001. If the lifter does not concentrate on pausing the contracted position of any exercise, there will be a bouncing affect or recoil from the raising to the lowering phase. Note: Hold any contracted position for a count of 1001 and allow the muscles to develop maximally throughout their full range of motion. 4. Exert an all-out effort. A sub-maximal effort will produce sub-maximal results. The lifter must work as hard as possible if maximum gains are to be obtained. If the lifter exerts an all out effort and the training partner applies the MR correctly, the lifter will be assured of obtaining maximum benefits. 5. Allow four seconds for the lowering phase. The lifter can lower more resistance than he can raise. During the lowering phase of some exercises, the lifter may by capable of exerting more force than the spotter can apply during the first few reps. The lifter must cooperate with the spotter and perform the lowering phase of the exercise. During the lowering phase of some exercises, the lifter could stop an any point, if he so desired, and hold that position, not allowing the spotter to push him down. This could invite injury and make the exercise less effective. Remember that in each succeeding repetition, the person exercising will grow weaker. Eventually the spotter will be capable of applying more than enough resistance during the lowering phase. Until this point is reached, the exerciser must cooperate with the spotter during the lowering phase.

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RESPONSIBILITIES OF SPOTTER It should be more than obvious to anyone interested MR of the value of a properly educated training partner. The effectiveness of MR exercise is almost totally dependent on the abilities of the spotter. It cannot be over emphasized enough how important it is for the instructor to thoroughly educate the participants. For the exercise to be safe and effective, the spotter should strictly adhere to the following guidelines. The major responsibilities of the spotter include the following:

1. Communication whenever necessary and constant coordination with the lifter. Pay attention to the execution of every repetition. The lifter’s safety is the spotter’s primary concern. How the spotter applies the MR dictates the quality and safety of the exercise. The spotter should make corrections if needed and provide verbal encouragement for motivation. If the lifter is not strictly adhering to the exact methods prescribed, the spotter should correct the lifter immediately. 2. Do not apply maximum resistance during the first few reps. The first few reps of each exercise should be used to warm up the involved muscles. This will also help to begin gradual fatiguing the muscles so that when the lifter does exert an all out effort, the muscle will be weaker. This will decrease the potential for injury. Note: If maximum resistance is applied on the first few reps injury could result. Less than maximum resistance is required on the first few reps. 3. Vary the resistance of each rep during the raising phase. Once the muscles are warmed up, the spotter should learn to apply as much resistance as the lifter can safely and effectively handle at each point during the raising phase. All movements should be smooth and controlled. This is the most difficult aspect of manual resistance to master. The amount of resistance that a lifter needs during the raising phase of one rep will actually vary. The bones and musculature are a system of levers. The changing positions of the bone and muscles create leverage advantages and disadvantages. These advantages and disadvantages will require more or less resistance by the spotter.

An example of the leverage system is the conventional push-up exercise. The lifter requires more resistance as the arms straighten. He requires less resistance as the arms bend. Another example of the leverage system can be observed while spotting the side lateral raise. It’s obvious that the lifter gradually grows weaker (requires less resistance) as the arms are raised away from the body and weakest in the contracted position. The spotter should learn to gradually increase or decrease the resistance according to accommodate these changing “strength curves.” If the resistance is being applied correctly, the resistance should feel constant to the lifter. The spotter is adding exactly as much resistance as the lifter can raise at each point during the raising phase. If too much resistance is applied at any point, the lifter will be unable to move momentarily. He will be forced to stop the exercise, jerk, or use cheating movements to continue the exercise. If not enough resistance is applied the exercise will be less productive than it could be. The spotter should also be aware that the lifter is gradually fatiguing with each succeeding repetition. If the resistance is properly applied the amount of resistance will decrease with each rep. If the spotter applies the resistance correctly, he will only have to apply a few pounds of resistance on the last rep or two. On some exercises, the lifter may be unable to raise even the weight of his arms.

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Note: It is the spotter’s job to apply just the right amount of resistance at each point during the raising phase. 4. Smooth transition from the raising phase to the lowering phase. The person applying the resistance should adjust the amount of resistance at the point of transition from the raising phase to the lowering phase. It should be realized that the lifter can lower more weight than he can raise. This is why it is important for the lifter to pause momentarily in the contracted position. This gives the spotter time to begin smoothly applying the additional work load for the lowering phase. Spotters cannot make a sudden change from the raising to the lowering phase or the lifter will be unable to hold the contracted position momentarily. The lifter will not make a smooth transition. There will be a sudden drop, which will

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not allow the muscle to be exercised maximally at each point. It may also invite injury.

5. Add more resistance during the lowering phase. Due primarily to friction, the lifter can lower more weight than he can raise. The spotter should learn to apply more resistance during the lowering phase. If not enough resistance is applied the lifter could stop at any point during the lowering phase and hold that position for several seconds. Because the lifter is so much stronger during the lowering phases there must be mutual cooperation between the lifter and spotter. The same leverage advantages and disadvantages that exist during the raising phase of each exercise apply to the lowering phase. The person applying the MR must also be aware that the lifter is gradually fatiguing each rep. The spotter should learn to apply as much resistance as the lifter can resist while allowing four seconds to lower the weight. If too much resistance is applied during the lowering phase the lifter will be unable to allow four seconds to perform the lowering movement. This could invite possible injury. 6. Change the angle of resistance being applied. Most movements in the body are rotary in nature. Most muscles contract about an axis of rotation. They pull on the bones to form movements that form an arc. For the muscles to be most effectively exercised the angle of resistance must change through the execution of each repetition. This must be done to accommodate the changing angle that the muscle is pulling on the bone. The MR must be supplied to coincide with the changing angles of each arc formed by the muscles involved. The changing angle resistance applied can be observed while performing the side lateral raise. In the starting position the angle of resistance will be almost perpendicular to the floor. As the lifter raises his/her arms, the spotter should gradually adjust the angle of resistance. This concept will apply almost any time a single muscle group is isolated. The spotter should develop the ability to recognize the correct angle of resistance. 7. Provide enough resistance to stimulate strength gains. For maximum gains the spotter needs to apply as much resistance as the lifter can exert during the execution of both the raising and lowering phase of each repetition. 8. Do not apply maximum resistance for any exercise in an all out manner during the first few workouts. Gradual increases the intensity of exercise in each succeeding workout until the techniques required for each exercise have been mastered.

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9. When necessary, apply less resistance as the lifter approaches the muscle’s stretched position. While performing some exercises, the spotter should learn to gradually decrease the amount of MR being applied as the lifter approaches and eventually reaches the joint’s stretched position. Injury could result if too much resistance is applied in the stretched position of the muscles being exercised. The spotter should sacrifice the application of maximum resistance to gain maximum stretching and prevent injury. A good example is the neck flexion exercise. The lifter will not relax and stretch the neck if too much resistance is applied. To get the lifter into a relaxed and stretched position safely, the spotter should begin to gradually decrease the amount of manual resistance as the lifter approaches the neck stretched position. It should be a smooth and gradual transition. The spotter is applying too much resistance near or at the stretched position if the lifter:

a. Doesn’t reach a completely relaxed and stretched position at the end of each rep. b. Stops short of the stretched position

c. Feels the need to pull back in the stretched position to prevent hyper stretching.

PERFORMING MANUAL RESISTANCE EXERCISES While performing MR exercises, the following guidelines should be used to perform each exercise: 1. Perform 12 repetitions or continue exercising for approximately 40 to 70 seconds. 2. Perform only one set per exercise. 3. Take four seconds for the lowering phase. 4. Allow from three to four seconds to execute the raising phase of each exercise. This will

include moving form the starting position and pausing in the contracted position momentarily. 5. Exercise 2-3 times a week while alternating days. 6. Change the order regularly. The most important aspect of MR is knowing the proper way to spot and to lift. All of you have been through our MR program from time to time, but for those of you who might have missed something along the way, here is a quick review of the MR exercises we perform at Edina. The following twenty-two exercises will be explained (i.e. starting position, description of movement, and spotting form) and illustrated on the next few pages:

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1. Neck Flexion 12. Upright Row 2. Neck Extension 13. Bent-Over Row 3. Shrug 14. Dip 4. One-Legged Squat 15. Chin 5. Hip Adduction 16. Biceps Curl 6. Hip Abduction 17. Triceps Extension 7. Push-ups 18. Leg Curl 8. Side Lateral Raise 19. Leg Extension 9. Front Raise 20. Bent-Arm Fly 10. Seated Press 21. Sit-ups 11. Bent-over Rear 22. Lat Pulldowns Delt Raise

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MANUAL RESISTANCE EXERCISES There are a variety of MR exercises that can be performed. As discussed on the preceding page a brief description of each exercise will follow. For maximum gains attempt to reduce the lifter’s strength level to zero by performing approximately 10-12 repetitions on each exercise. Remember to follow the guidelines we discussed earlier for the Lifter and Spotter. Note: Be especially cautious with NECK exercises. EXERCISE #1 - NECK FLEXION - (NECK FLEXORS) Starting: Lying face up on a flat bench, the shoulders are slightly over the edge of the bench. The top of the head should be parallel to the floor - At the beginning of each rep the neck muscles must be totally relaxed. Movement: Flexing only the neck muscles, raise the head forward and upward so that the chin is resting on the chest - Pause momentarily and recover to starting position. Spotting: Place dominant hand on the lifter’s forehead and the non-dominant hand on the lifter’s chin - Apply as much pressure as is needed to accommodate for the strength curve of the neck flexors.

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EXERCISE #2 - NECK EXTENSION - (NECK EXTENSORS) Starting: Lying face down on an exercise bench with the head hanging over the edge of the bench - Neck should be totally relaxed with the chin touching chest - Hands should be resting behind the back. Movement: Raise the head upward and backwards until it is fully extended - Pause momentarily before recovering to starting position Spotting: Form a web with the hands and place them on the back of the Lifter’s head - Begin the exercise with mild pressure to stretch the neck and continue to carry the resistance according to the strength curve on the neck extensors. EXERCISE #3 - SHRUG (TRAPEZIUS) Starting: Standing with body erect and arms extended - Hands should be interlocking and grasping the Spotters wrist - Shoulders and traps should be relaxed. Movement: Elevate the shoulder girdle by shrugging shoulders as high as possible - Pause momentarily before recovering to starting position. Spotting: Lay under the Lifter with his hands interlocking and grasping your wrists.

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EXERCISE #4 - ONE -LEGGED SQUAT - (MAJOR MUSCLES OF LEGS/BUTTOCKS) Starting: Standing on one leg with right leg extended outward - Balance by placing right arm around Spotter’s shoulders and grasping a fixed object with left hand. Movement: Lower the body until the upper leg is horizontal to the floor - Pause momentarily before recovering to starting position. Spotting: Stand along side the Lifter and grasp under his right knee joint (lower hamstring) with your right hand - Place your left arm around the Lifter’s waist - Assistance or resistance may be applied with the left arm - Mirror with the right leg. EXERCISE #5 - HIP ADDUCTION - (INNER THIGH) Starting: Sitting down with arms extended behind body for support - Legs should be bent at an angle of approximately 90 degrees - Soles of the feet are facing each other but remain 3-4 inches apart - Knees upward and inward as far as possible. Movement: Raise the knees upward and inward as far as possible - Pause momentarily before recovering to starting position. Spotting: Face the Lifter and apply pressure with both hands on the inside upper portion of the knee throughout the exercise.

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EXERCISE #6 - HIP ABDUCTION - (HIPS) Starting: Lying on left side with upper and lower body in line. Movement: Raise the right leg as high as possible - Pause momentarily before recovering to starting position - Mirror with left leg. Spotting: Kneel or stand near the Lifter’s knee and place both hands above the knee on the thigh to apply the resistance. EXERCISE #7 - PUSHUP - (CHEST/SHOULDERS/TRICEPS) Starting: Assume the pushup position with only the feet and hands touching the floor with the body straight - When no longer able to properly perform another rep drop to the hands and knees position keeping toes off the floor - Hands should be out in front of the shoulders. Movement: Lower the chest (Do not touch thighs or stomach) to a position just short of the floor and recover to starting position. Spotting: Straddle the Lifter and place both hands on the upper back to apply resistance - Ideally the Lifter must fail in the hands and knee position.

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EXERCISE #8 - SIDE LATERAL RAISE - (MEDIAL DELTOID) Starting: Standing erect with the arms extended out and palms facing inward. Movement: Raise the arms sideward and upward overhead - Pause before recovering to starting position. Spotting: Stand behind the Lifter with hands on the back of the Lifter’s wrist. EXERCISE #9 - FRONT RAISE - (FRONT DELTOID) Starting: Standing erect with feet staggered and arms extended well back behind the body. Palms should be facing away from the body. Movement: Raise the arms forward and upward to a position up and over the head - Pause momentarily before recovering to staring position. Spotting: Place hands on back of Lifter’s wrist - Keep there throughout exercise - Spotter will have to move closer to Lifter in the starting position and away from him as the Lifter raises his arm overhead.

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EXERCISE #10 – SEATED PRESS - (DELTOIDS) Starting: Sitting with arms bent and upper body leaning back slightly Movement: Extend arms upward - Pause momentarily before recovering to starting position. Spotting: Grasp Lifter’s hands with the thumbs interlocking and apply the resistance to the hands. EXERCISE #11 - BENT - OVER REAR DELT RAISE - (POSTERIOR DELTOID) Starting: Bending over at waist with arms extended and hanging down at a 90 degree angle. Palms and forearms facing each other not quite touching and Legs slightly bent. keep upper body parallel to floor throughout exercise. Movement: Raise arms sideward and upward to a position parallel to floor - Pause momentarily before recovering to starting position. Spotting: Standing at Lifter’s head and bent at waist - Place hands on the back of the Lifter’s forearms to apply resistance.

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EXERCISE #12 - UPRIGHT ROW - (DELTOIDS/TRAPEZIUS/BICEPS) Starting: Standing with arms extended downward holding a towel in both hands - A closer grip should be used - Feet shoulder width apart - Head looking skyward. Movement: Pull the towel upward touching under the chin - Pause momentarily before recovering to starting position. Spotting: Sitting under the Lifter - Look skyward with hands grasping both ends of the towel to provide resistance. EXERCISE #13 - BENT - OVER ROW - (LATS) Starting: Bending at the waist keeping the upper body parallel to the floor with right arm extended - Legs slightly bent with the left forearm resting on the left thigh to stabilize the upper body. Movement: Bend arm while driving elbow upward to a position above the upper body - Pause momentarily before recovering to starting position - More stretching will be obtained if the Spotter pushes the upper arm to a full stretch position where the upper arm is touching the chest - Mirror with left arm. Spotting: Standing on right side of Lifter, place your left hand on his upper back and your right hand on the upper arm just above the elbow - Apply resistance.

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EXERCISE #14 - DIP - (CHEST/SHOULDERS/TRICEPS) Starting: Mounted on dip bars with arms extended and legs bent to provide full range during the lowering of the body. Movement: Bend the arms lowering the body as much as possible and recover to starting position. Spotting: Pull on the Lifter’s hips to provide additional resistance if the Lifter is capable of performing more than 12 reps. EXERCISE #15 - CHIN - (LATS/ BICEPS) Starting: Standing with a bar hanging downward with arms fully extended and the upper body resting against a wall. Movement: Raise the bar forward and upward contracting the biceps - Pause momentarily before recovering to starting position. Spotting: Manually vary the resistance during the raising and lowering phases of the exercise - Allowing the Lifter to move the elbows forward will involve the biceps but at the expense of allowing the muscles to rest in the contracted position. EXERCISE #16 - BICEP CURL - (BICEP) Starting: Standing with a bar hanging downward with arms fully extended and the upper body resting against the wall. Movement: Raise the bar forward and upward contracting the biceps - Pause momentarily before recovering to the starting position. Spotting: Manually vary the resistance during the raising and lowering phases of the exercise - Allowing the lifter to move the elbows forward will involve the biceps but at the expense of allowing the muscles to rest in the contracted position.

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EXERCISE #17 - TRICEPS EXTENSION - (TRICEPS) Starting: Lying on back with the right arm bent and the elbow pointing to the sky - Upper arm must remain perpendicular to the body throughout exercise. Movement: Raise the forearm forward and upward until the arm is fully extended - Pause momentarily before recovering to starting position. Spotting: Kneeling beside the Lifter with his right thigh resting against the Lifter’s upper arm - This will stabilize the Lifter’s upper arm - Spotter will place his left hand on the outside of the Lifter’s elbow and his right hand on the wrist where the resistance is applied. EXERCISE #18 - LEG CURL - (HAMSTRINGS) Starting: Lying face down on the floor with your legs straight and toes pointed. Movement: Keeping right thigh flat on the ground bring right heel as close to buttocks as possible - Pause momentarily before recovering to starting position - Mirror with left leg. Spotting: Kneel alongside the Lifter and apply resistance against the heel in motion.

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EXERCISE #19 - LEG EXTENSION - (QUADRICEPS) Starting: Sitting on a bench or chair so feet do not touch floor. Movement: Extend right leg up as high as possible - Pause momentarily before recovering to starting position - Mirror with left leg. Spotting: Kneel alongside Lifter and apply resistance against heel in motion. EXERCISE #20 - BENT - ARM FLY - (CHEST/ANTERIOR DELTOID) Starting: Lying face down on a bench or floor - Place feet on floor and interlock fingers behind head. Movement: Bring elbows together in front of face - Pause momentarily before recovering to starting position. Spotting: Stand directly behind Lifter’s head and provide resistance against the insides of the Lifter’s elbows.

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EXERCISE #21 - SIT-UPS - (ABDOMINAL) Starting: Lying of the floor and placing backs of legs on a bench or a stool - The angle between upper body and legs should be about 90 degrees - Fold arms across chest and lift head off the floor. Movement: Bring torso up to legs - Pause momentarily before recovering to starting position. Spotting: Sit behind Lifter and provide resistance against shoulders. EXERCISE #22 - LAT PULLDOWNS - (LATS) Starting Position: Sitting a bench or stool and cross arms behind head. Movement: Pull arms down toward sides - Pause momentarily before recovering to starting position. Spotting: Provide resistance against back of the upper arms while standing behind the Lifter.

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MANUAL RESISTANCE WORKOUTS Here are three MR

workouts that you can use if you can’t get to a weight room or if you just want to add variety to your regular routine. These are made up of the same exercises

reviewed on the proceeding pages.

Remember that there is never an excuse for

missing a workout. You can always do manuals no matter where you are of what time of the day if

is!MR #1

MR #2 MR #3

NECK FLEXION CHEST FLY CHINS*/LAT PULLDOWNNECK EXTENSION PUSHUPS DIPS*/PUSHUPS

UPRIGHT ROW LAT PULLDOWNS FRONT RAISESIDE LATERAL RAISE SIDE LATERAL RAISE SIDE LATERAL RAISE

SEATED PRESS REAR DELT SEATED PRESSCHEST FLY SEATED PRESS SEATED ROWSPUSHUPS UPRIGHT ROW PUSHUPS

BICEP CURL BICEP CURL BICEP CURLTRICEPS EXTENSION TRICEPS EXTENSION TRICEPS EXTENSION

SIT-UPS GROIN UPRIGHT ROWLOW BACK LATERAL HIP NECK FLEXION

GROIN LEG CURL NECK EXTENSIONLATERAL HIP LEG EXTENSION SHRUG

LEG CURL ONE-LEGGED SQUAT LEG EXTENSIONONE-LEGGED SQUAT SIT-UPS LEG CURL

SIT-UPS NECK FLEXION ONE-LEGGED SQUATNECK EXTENSIONS SIT-UPS

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V. CONDITIONINGSPECIFICITY OF CONDITIONING

Conditioning is very specific. The demands of running a series of sprints are different than running in a game situation. Specificity of conditioning is a term we use to describe the specific adaptations that take place physically from a particular activity. The running you do in the off-season is designed to get you in good enough shape to start practice. The only way to get into shape for the game is to actually experience the demands on the body in a game situation. The purpose of the off-season conditioning program is to prevent injury and to give you a “base level” of fitness that will allow you to make the specific game level adaptation in a few days instead of a few weeks. Most of you have experienced this specific conditioning before. Many of you played several sports in high school. Maybe you spent four months playing and conditioning for football. “Certainly,” you thought, “I have to be in shape for basketball season.” How surprised were you when you couldn’t catch your breath the first day of practice? Some of the training you had done for football had transferred, but not all of it. The training you had done allowed you to be much better off after a week of practice, instead of the month it would have taken if you had done nothing. You will have to actually experience the demands of practice to develop the specific adaptation to practice. If you have done all of our summer running and you still find yourself slightly out of breath the first practice, don’t panic! This is natural. If you fight it, you will find yourself taking weeks to adapt instead of days. If you recognize it and take it for what it is - a conditioning challenge just like any other you have done in your preparation - you will adapt quickly. The same phenomenon will occur when you participate in your first full scrimmage and then in your first game. You can’t recreate a specific demand on your energy system until you actually engage in that activity. How quickly you adapt will be determined by your previous preparation and by how hard you practice and play. Skilled pattern running is an attempt to duplicate the position specific activities you perform in competition. Skilled pattern running may help facilitate the transition from running in a straight line (while conditioning) to performing the physical demands of your position. Your coach has given us the specific skill patterns you use in a game. We have organized them into “sets” with a series of ten different “reps.” Run each rep at full speed and jog back to the starting point after each rep is completed. Get in your stance and start the next rep. Start the clock when you start your first rep and stop the clock when you finish your last rep of each set.

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CONDITIONINGThe energy used to play the game of football is provided by two predominant energy

systems. They are the aerobic system and the anaerobic system. The aerobic means with oxygen and the term anaerobic means without oxygen.

The aerobic system draws its energy from oxygen in the air you breathe. Aerobic exercise improves the ability of the cardio-respiratory system to transport oxygen (fuel) to the working muscles.

The anaerobic system draws its energy from ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) and glycogen. Both are stored within the muscles. The body uses the food you eat and converts it to ATP and glycogen. Your car engine uses gasoline. Your muscles use ATP and glycogen.

The amount of ATP and glycogen your muscles can store is limited. Interval training and proper diet improves the muscle’s ability to store more ATP and glycogen. It also improves the ability of the anaerobic system to replace these energy stores.

The aerobic system is called the O2 System. The anaerobic system has two separate energy systems. They are called the ATP-PC System and the LA (lactic acid) System.

The ATP-PC and the LA system have a limited supply of energy. For example, try sprinting up a 400-yard steep incline as fast as you can. You will fatigue rapidly and won’t make it very far. After running a short distance your legs will buckle, and you’ll be gasping for air.

You’ve just exhausted all of the ATP and glycogen available. Rest and your body immediately begins replenishing ATP and glycogen. Wait long enough and you can perform the same activity again.

A properly organized interval running program will increase your muscles’ ability to store more energy. Interval training will also improve the muscles’ ability to recover more quickly.

On a different day instead of sprinting up the hill as fast as you can, jog slowly all the way to the top. You can make it to the top because the exercise intensity is lower and the fuel is coming from the aerobic energy system (oxygen). Your ability to utilize oxygen can be increased with aerobic training. Below is a chart that illustrates how long each system can provide energy at high levels of intensity.

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System Energy Available Distance

ATP-PC 0 to 10 seconds 0 - 100 yards

LA 11 to 60 seconds 100 - 400 yards

O2 (aerobic) 12 minutes to unlimited 1-1/2 miles to ?

Cardio-respiratory (CR) fitness incorporates the efficiency of your heart and lungs. During exercise, you heart and lungs must deliver oxygen to the working muscles.

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The aerobic system is the energy system developed with low intensity exercise similar to running, rowing, stair climbing, swimming, etc. The anaerobic system is the energy system developed with high intensity exercise similar to speed work. Each system compliments the efficiency of the other.

An activity is considered aerobic in nature if it meets the following criterion:

1. It must involve several large muscle groups. 2. The activity must be rhythmic in nature (running, rope jumping, bike riding,

etc.). 3. It must be sustained for a minimum of 12 minutes and up to 45 minutes. 4. Heart rate should remain somewhere between 70-85% of its maximum.

Your heart rate is the key to any aerobic exercise. If your pace is too slow, your heart rate will dip below 70% of its maximum and you won’t improve aerobically. If your pace is too fast, your heart rate will exceed 85% and your gains will not be any better (but, you’ll endure a great deal more discomfort).

While training aerobically, try to keep your heart rate between 80-85% of its maximum. To determine 85% of your predicted max. heart rate, use the following formula. 220 – Age = Predicted max. heart rate

X .85 = ideal beats/minute during aerobic exercise

Let’s assume you’re 20 years old. The example below illustrates how to determine your ideal heart rate while running, riding a stationary bike, using the Life Step, or during any aerobic exercise:

200 Max. number of times the average person’s heart beats.

- 20 Yrs. Old (age of our example)

200 predicted maximum heart rate (predicted maximum number of times heart can beat)

200 Predicted max. HR

X .85 (85% = Maximum level of intensity to improve aerobic 9.75 capacity)

170 bpm = Maximum heart rate during aerobic exercise.

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200

X .70

140 bpm (70%) = Minimum heart rate during aerobic exercise

From the above information, we’ve determined that as a 20 year old, you must keep your heart rate between 140(70%) and 170 (85%). If while running, riding the bike, or doing any aerobic exercise, your heart rate falls below 140beats per minute, your pace is too slow to improve your aerobic efficiency. If your heart rate exceeds 170, your pace is too fast. For best results, establish a pace to keep your heart rate around 170.

If you continue to run or cycle at the same pace each workout, your heart rate will gradually begin to drop and you’ll have to increase your pace to keep your heart rate around 85%. Take your heart rate after you’ve warmed up and have been exercising at a steady pace for 5-6 minutes. Take your pulse for 10 seconds and multiply by 6 to get your heart rate or beats/minute.

The goal of your running during June and July is to get you in good enough shape to allow you to use the game of football to get you in shape to play football. No amount of running, biking, hill running, etc., will prepare your cardio-respiratory and muscular system for the specific conditioning demands of football until you practice and eventually play the game.

There are some guidelines that you should observe when training anaerobically. Don’t train in a haphazard manner. Frequently record your running times and rest intervals. For example, let’s assume you run two 440’s in 70 seconds and allow 3 minutes rest between the two. During your next workout, you run the same two 440’s but you only rest 2 minutes and 45 seconds. It will make your second quarter more demanding. You might allow more than 3 minutes rest and make the second 440 less productive than your previous workout. You could run either of the 440’s faster or slower, and increase or decrease the difficulty of the workout.

If you are trying to become more fit, you should record the distance run, the amount of time elapsed, and the amount of rest time between each interval. It’s the only way to prevent doing something you’ve already done. Increase the intensity of exercise as fitness improves.

The following are guidelines suggested when performing interval work:

1. Exercise time should not exceed 75 seconds (can be anywhere between 1 & 75 seconds).

2. Rest between each interval should be approximately 2 ½ - 4 times the running time, or until your pulse rate drops below 120.

It should be your goal to determine how little exercise (not how much) you must perform to get you ready to play the game. Don’t go into a workout feeling lethargic, stiff, or not rested. That’s a sign that you’ve performed too much exercise your last workout, or you didn’t allow enough time to recover. Remember, you exercise to feel

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stronger, more fit, and perform at a higher level. As you increase the intensity of work, you must decrease the quantity performed.

Your speed work training can incorporate a wide range of activities. Many different combinations of distances (10 yds. To 440 yds.) can be used. Approximately 3-4 weeks before summer camp, you should implement some type of “skilled pattern running”

Skilled pattern running must imitate the specific demands of your position. For example, the wide receiver should run a series of pass routes identical to those you will run at camp while simulating game conditions. This will more closely place the exact physical demands on your cardio-respiratory and muscular system that no other type of running or conditioning is capable of doing. Each position dictates the specific protocol you should follow.

There is no right way to prepare. Your preference and personal experience will eventually dictate your conditioning package.

SPEED & QUICKNESS TRAINING Speed development is another component of your fitness profile. You’ve heard the term “speed kills”. A more appropriate term for an athlete should be, “specific sport speed Kills.” For a football player the term should read, “position specific football speed kills.”

Too much emphasis is placed upon running in a straight line (40-yard sprint). The speed to play the game of football is specific to the demands of each position (football speed). Football speed is the key to your success, not straight line track speed. Some athletes run fast in a straight line but do not possess the abilities to quickly change direction.

Your goal is to develop the specific speed and quickness you use to play your position, and a level of conditioning to sustain that speed and quickness during a game. Speed and quickness are abilities you inherit from your genetic pool. There are specific physical and neurological assets you must possess to run fast. These are factors you have no control over.

You can’t develop more speed than your genetic potential will allow. Why is it that an elementary school student can sprint faster than anyone in his school? He’s had no special training or coaching. He’s in no better shape than the other kids.

Invest your training time wisely. Do not invest too much time developing speed for a specific event (40-yard sprint). You are not a track athlete. Your level of conditioning to maintain football speed and quickness during a game is more important than your ability to run 40 yards in a straight line.

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Speed Gadgets There are no magical potions, gadgets, or exercises that will miraculously increase

your speed. Speed quacks are as common as nutrition quacks. Increases in speed are often obtained in spite of the training regimen employed by the athlete. Unknowingly coaches and athletes often attribute speed increases to activities that had nothing to do with any improvement in speed.

To determine if any activity has a positive impact on your speed, first get in great running shape. Lift, stretch, condition, and practice running fast. Periodically time yourself electronically. Eventually your increases in speed will level off. You simply can’t run any faster.

At this point add one new activity to your training that you believe will improve your speed. After a short period of time you should observe an increase in your speed. If you do not, it’s obvious the new activity had no impact on improving your speed.

Continue experimenting with only one activity at a time, until you’ve tried all the activities that purportedly improve speed. Don’t expect to begin the off-season out of shape and then perform a multitude of activities and expect to know which, if any, actually had an impact.

Plyometrics Plyometric exercises incorporate a wide range of bounding, hopping, jumping,

throwing, and explosive activities. The literature is quite specific on the effects of transfer. Skills do not transfer. Quickening exercises performed do not transfer from one task to another. You can become proficient at one-legged bounds by practicing one-legged bounds. Do not expect this skill to transfer to movement performed on the football field.

The game of football includes an endless number of explosive movements too numerous to document. The specific explosiveness used to perform each of these movements can only be developed by practicing these exact movements. If any plyometric exercise enhanced a skill or ability to play the game, it must be performed regularly during summer camp and throughout the entire season.

Many of the explosive plyometric movements performed are quite stressful to the joints. You do not have the time or the energy to expend additional time and energy performing plyometric exercises during the season. If you are not going to perform them during the season…why perform them at all?

The formula is a simple one for an athlete --- and it doesn’t include any of the speed gadgets on the market.

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Speed training should not be confused with strength training, conditioning, or practice.

• use the weight room to develop muscular strength

• use an interval running program to condition the heart, lungs, and muscles

• practice the skills needed to run fast (stance, start, running technique)

• practice the skills used to play your position

You develop and maintain your specific speed, quickness, and conditioning by the activities you perform during practice and games. You don’t have the time or energy during the season to perform many of the activities often recommended to increase speed. You barely have enough time to recover between games.

You can’t alter your genetic pool or those characteristics you’ve inherited from your parents. But you can develop the potential speed you do possess by exploiting those factors you can control. Listed below are some of the items you can control that contribute to your ability to run fast:

• eliminate excess body fat

• strengthen the muscles used to run

• develop adequate flexibility

• refine stance/start techniques

• develop sound running techniques

• develop a level of fitness to maintain speed and quickness

_ practice running fast

FORM RUNNING The purpose of form running is to improve running technique. We use a distance of 40 yards. Form running is performed at ¼ speed, to ½ speed, to ¾ speed, and finally to full speed. Progress to full speed only when perfect technique at ¾ speed is achieved. If players are having trouble with a technique they are kept at a slower speed.

Form running will become counter-productive if players reinforce incorrect technique. Begin with 2 sets of 5 reps and increase to 3 sets when the first two sets are run without

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a drop off in the quality of techniques. Quality is more important than quantity. Work on 1-2 techniques at a time.

It is important to note that during ¼, ½, and ¾ speed running, players are not

running with full stride. This means that the hands will travel to the hip area at ¼ speed. At ½ speed the hand travels back a little further, at ¾ speed a little further. As the speeds are increased and the stride lengthens, the hand travels further back through the hip pocket. At full speed there is a full arm swing through the hips and past the buttocks.

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The following vocabulary is to be used during form running. The words will be

explained as players are performing each specific drill:

STANCE/START STANCE:

Crowd the Line: Get as close to the line as possible without getting too much weight forward.

Hand Position: One hand on the pocket, arm bent at 90 degrees, upper arm parallel to the ground. The down hand just behind the line, thumb pointing up.

Foot Stagger: Lead Foot should be as close to the line as possible, without getting too much weight forward. Back foot at the heel of lead foot (foot position based on comfort). Have a narrow stance.

Head: Eyes focused on the ground 3 yards in front of you. Not up or down.

START:

Lead Hand: Needs to drag back in a violent motion

Back Hand: Rip forward from the pocket in a violent motion.

Feet: Explode out with both legs. Gain as much ground as possible on the first step. Step out forward in a straight line.

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UPPER BODY TECHNIQUES

1. HAND POSITION - Thumb on the 2nd knuckle of the index finger and in line with the forearm. The rest of the fingers curled in under the index finger. Palms are in toward the body.

2. FIXED – Elbows are locked at a 90 degree angle. Do not let the angle close at t he top of the movement or open at the bottom or back of the movement.

3. ROTATE & SQUEEZE - Start with a walk, rotating the arms through a full range of motion

Note: Anytime the elbows move away from the midline you get rotational force, so you must concentrate on getting your elbows tight against your body. To accentuate speed everything must be moving straight ahead.

a. With elbows fixed, the knuckles move down, not back, through past the hip pocket with a downward violent angular force. b. Range of Motion begins at the chest, no higher than the sternum.

4. HAMMER – The knuckles must be in a down and back position (with palms toward the midline of the body) as though you are standing with your back to a wall hammering a nail into the wall. This is a violent motion. You will run closer to full speed with this drill.

5. FOCUS – Eyes and head focused straight ahead. Focus on fixed point.

LOWER BODY TECHNIQUES 1. ARCH – There should be a slight arch in the lower back region.

a. Upper Back: shoulder blades should be slightly toward the midline of the body, “Stick your chest Out”.

b. Lower Back: Arched out so that the hips are beneath you. c. Slight angular lean, not bent over.

2. PUNCH – The knee is driven forward not up slightly rotating the hip. Punch the knee through the wall in front of you.

3. FOOT PLANT -

a. The foreleg snaps down and back beneath the hips

b. The foot will hit naturally on the ball of the foot.

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4. HYPEREXTENSION – Locking out the plant leg to full extension. If you come out of this phase too early, the stride length and power will not be maximized.

Vertical Displacement Any vertical lift will force you to spend more time in the air, less time on the ground, and slow you down. Eliminate the vertical component and you’ll increase speed.

Fast runners often appear to run effortlessly. Their heads remain level once they have reached the upright position. The term we use to describe this condition is vertical displacement. Your vertical displacement can be measured while you run. It is the distance that your head moves up and down above and below your standing height. The greater the curve, the more vertical lift. Minimize vertical lift and you’ll run faster.

Listed below are tips to eliminate vertical lift;

• Rotate at the shoulder, do not shrug as you swing your arms forward. • While rotating the arm forward keep arm flexed at 90 degrees.

• While rotating arm forward do not bring your hand higher than your sternum. • While rotating your arm rearward do not bring the thumb beyond the hip. • Throw the knee in the direction that you are running (upper leg reaches a position

parallel to the ground). • Do not land with your front foot beyond your hip. • Keep upper body erect (run tall), do not rock forward at the waist.

Running Techniques Listed below are the key points we teach about running:

• Run tall with torso erect and shoulders back (forward lean can shorten stride). • Keep head stationary with eyes focused straight ahead. • Rotate arms forward and rearward close to the body. • Be sure to land the plant foot directly under the hip. • Increase your stride length by fully extending your hip and leg behind you, not

by over striding (rear leg must be fully extended – do not prematurely pull your foot off the ground).

• During the recovery phase keep the lower leg relaxed and flexed at 90 degrees • During recovery forcefully drive the knee in the direction that you are running. • Drive the leg down and back – (speed comes from the force you apply to the

ground downward and backward).

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Practice Running Fast The most important variable to realizing your full speed potential is to practice running fast. Running fast is a specific skill. The neurological system and the muscular system must learn to coordinate a network of sophisticated actions both chemically and physically. To fully develop these systems they must be trained at maximum speeds.

It sounds simple and it is, yet some athletes never practice running fast (all out). Once you’ve developed a requisite level of strength and conditioning, you must practice running as fast as you can.

Periodically, set aside a workout to practice running fast. You must be completely rested. You can only run a few sprints all out. Rest until you feel recovered between each sprint. It may require that you rest for 10-15 minutes between each sprint.

Skills and Drills There are dozens of books and video tapes that display hundreds of skills and drills that are used to complement speed training. Track athletes can spend time and energy performing skills and drills. They don’t have to recover from hitting during practice all week and playing 12 – 14 games a year.

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We’ve discussed the formula to running your fastest. There is no need for a football player to spend any additional time on speed drills. Time doesn’t allow it during the season when you need to be your fastest.

You’d be wiser to spend that time on conditioning, running pass routes, covering a receiver, perfecting your pass rushing skills, throwing the football, catching a football, or any other skill used to play the game. Remember, the activities you perform during the season are the activities that develop and maintain your football speed and quickness from August through December.

RUNNING/ WARM-UP PROCEDURE

WARM-UP - players will run one full lap around the field

DYNAMIC FLEXIBILITY – players line up in groups on goal line. - Knee pulls (to chest) 2 x 10 yds. - Frankenstein Walk 2 x 10 yds. - Lunges 2 x 10 yds. - High Knees 2 x 10 yds. - Lateral Shuffle 2 x 10 yds

STRETCH: 5-7 MINUTES HURDLE MOBILITY: 5-7 MINUTES QUICK FOOT LADDER DRILLS - various footwork drills, 5-7 minutes

3 MINUTE BREAK * * * * * * * * * *

***Perform Scheduled Running Workout on Calendar*** Running Programs

1. 300yd Intervals 2. 200yd Intervals

2 110’s x 8-10 3. 40’s – 2 x 10 4. 40’s – 1 x 14 5. 20’s – 2 x 16 6. Short Shuttle 7. Up Backs 8. Ladder

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INTERVAL WORKOUTSFollow the Conditioning Calendar to see which interval workout will be performed for

that day.

300’s

Can be run on football field or track. Once around the football field is approx. 300yds (staying inside the end zone on your turns). Your assigned time and relief/rest intervals are based on your positions: We will use 45 - 60 seconds as a guideline.

Exercise Time: 45 – 60 seconds

Rest Interval : 2 minutes

Number of Reps : 6 - 10

200’s

Can be run on field or track. Your assigned time and relief/rest intervals are based on your positions: We will use 30 - 35 seconds as a guideline.

Exercise Time: 30 - 35 seconds

Rest Interval : 1 minute 30 seconds

Number of Reps : 8 - 12

110’s

Exercise time: 16 seconds

Rest interval: 45 seconds (unless otherwise posted)

Number of reps: 8-22

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During this workout you will run one set of 110-yard sprints. From a stance, sprint 110 yards. After crossing the finish line coast ten yards and turn around. The rest interval begins as soon as you cross the finish line. Rest 45 seconds and again sprint 110 yards. After crossing the finish line coast ten yards and turn around. Continue this procedure until you have completed the desired number of reps

2 Sets of 40’s Exercise time: max effort

Rest interval between reps: 25 seconds

Rest interval between sets: 2 ½ minutes

Number of reps: 20 reps

During this workout you will run two sets of 40-yard sprints. From a stance, sprint 40 yards, then coast 20 yards and turn around. The rest interval begins as soon as you cross the finish line. At the end of the rest interval again sprint 40 yards, and then coast 20 yards. Continue this procedure until you have completed ten 40 yard sprints. Rest 2 ½ minutes and repeat the above protocol.2 sets of 20’s

Exercise time: max effort


Rest interval between sets: 2 ½ minutes

Number of reps: 16

During this workout you will run two sets of 20-yard sprints. From a stance sprint 20 yards, then coast ten yards and turn around. The rest interval begins as soon as you cross the finish line. At the end of the rest interval, again sprint 20 yards, and then coast ten yards. Continue this procedure until you have completed 16 20 yard sprints. Rest 2 ½ minutes and repeat the above protocol.

Up-Backs Exercise time: max effort


Number of reps: 12

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During this workout you will perform three different movements. They include running forward and backpedaling, carioca, and the lateral shuffle.

REP #1 From a standing position, sprint forward five yards, touch the line and backpedal 5 yards. Immediately sprint forward ten yards, touch the line and backpedal ten yards. To finish rep number one, again sprint forward 15 yards, touch the line and backpedal 15 yards. You’ve just completed 60 yards of running forward and backward. Rest 45 seconds and begin rep number two.

REP #2 Use the same protocol while performing the carioca. Rest 45 seconds and begin rep number three.

REP #3 Use the same protocol outlined above while performing the lateral shuffle.

Repeat reps 1, 2, and 3 (4 times), until a total of 12 reps have been performed.

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RUNNING/ WARM-UP PROCEDURE

WARM-UP- players will run one full lap around the fieldDYNAMIC FLEXIBILITY – players line up in groups on goal line.- Knee pulls (to chest) 2 x 10 yds.- Frankenstein Walk 2 x 10 yds.- Lunges 2 x 10 yds.- High Knees 2 x 10 yds.- Lateral Shuffle 2 x 10 yds

STRETCH: 5-7 MINUTESHURDLE MOBILITY: 5-7 MINUTESQUICK FOOT LADDER DRILLS- various footwork drills, 5-7 minutes

3 MINUTE BREAK* * * * * * * * * ****Perform Scheduled Running Workout on Calendar***Running Programs

1. 300yd Intervals2. 200yd Intervals

2 110’s x 8-103. 40’s – 2 x 104. 40’s – 1 x 145. 20’s – 2 x 166. Short Shuttle7. Up Backs8. Ladder

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WARM-UP The best warm up incorporates movements that are similar to the movements that will

take place during practice.• Increase the intensity of the movements in the warm up gradually over the course of a

period of 8 to 12 minutes. • A proper warm up increases heart rate, blood flow, muscle temperature, respiration

rate, sweat rate, and viscosity of joints. • The increase in muscle temperature allows for greater flexibility. • Stretching is not a warm up.

MUSCLE STRAINS MUSCLE STRAINS CAN HAPPEN DUE TO THE FOLLOWING FACTORS : • Fatigue and/or inadequate recovery from previous practice. • Improper warm up and/or inability to stay warm during practice or games. • Muscle forced through abnormal range of motion. • Prior injury / Dehydrated • Strength imbalance between opposing muscle groups – ex. Hamstrings/Quads.

FLEXIBILITY • Full range of motion strength training, stretching, and position specific drills will develop

the flexibility needed to play football. • Full range of motion strength workouts will lengthen and strengthen the muscle

throughout the full arc of the muscles range of motion. • Practicing position specific drills at full speed will provide the flexibility needed for your

position. The range of motion of the muscles used to play your position is totally different from stretching exercises. The range of motion needed for a defensive back to back peddle, turn his hips, and sprint full speed, cannot be replicated by any flexibility exercise.

• To counteract the adaptive shortening of muscles repeatedly performing the same movements specific to your position, all players should engage in a flexibility program. This is especially important for players with low back problems.

• Stretching should be completed at the end of your workouts. • There are a multitude of flexibility exercises. Choose exercises that you are familiar

with that target all the large muscle groups. Hold each stretch for :10 to :30 seconds. Please contact strength staff if you need any assistance in exercise selection.

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INTERVAL WORKOUTS Follow the Conditioning Calendar to see which interval workout will be performed for that day. 300’s Can be run on football field or track. Once around the football field is approx. 300yds (staying inside the end zone on your turns). Your assigned time and relief/rest intervals are based on your positions: We will use 45 - 60 seconds as a guideline. Exercise Time: 45 – 60 seconds Rest Interval : 2 minutes Number of Reps : 6 - 10 200’s Can be run on field or track. Your assigned time and relief/rest intervals are based on your positions: We will use 30 - 35 seconds as a guideline. Exercise Time: 30 - 35 seconds Rest Interval : 1 minute 30 seconds Number of Reps : 8 - 12 110’s

Exercise time: 16 seconds Rest interval: 45 seconds (unless otherwise posted) Number of reps: 8-22 During this workout you will run one set of 110-yard sprints. From a stance, sprint 110 yards. After crossing the finish line coast ten yards and turn around. The rest interval begins as soon as you cross the finish line. Rest 45 seconds and again sprint 110 yards. After crossing the finish line coast ten yards and turn around. Continue this procedure until you have completed the desired number of reps

2 Sets of 40’s Exercise time: max effort Rest interval between reps: 25 seconds Rest interval between sets: 2 ½ minutes Number of reps: 20 reps During this workout you will run two sets of 40-yard sprints. From a stance, sprint 40 yards, then coast 20 yards and turn around. The rest interval begins as soon as you cross the finish line. At the end of the rest interval again sprint 40 yards, and then coast 20 yards. Continue this procedure until you have completed ten 40 yard sprints. Rest 2 ½ minutes and repeat the above protocol.

2 sets of 20’s

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Exercise time: max effort Rest interval between reps: 15 seconds Rest interval between sets: 2 ½ minutes Number of reps: 16 During this workout you will run two sets of 20-yard sprints. From a stance sprint 20 yards, then coast ten yards and turn around. The rest interval begins as soon as you cross the finish line. At the end of the rest interval, again sprint 20 yards, and then coast ten yards. Continue this procedure until you have completed 16 20 yard sprints. Rest 2 ½ minutes and repeat the above protocol.

Up-Backs Exercise time: max effort

Rest interval between reps: 45 seconds Number of reps: 12 During this workout you will perform three different movements. They include running forward and backpedaling, carioca, and the lateral shuffle.

REP #1 From a standing position, sprint forward five yards, touch the line and backpedal 5 yards. Immediately sprint forward ten yards, touch the line and backpedal ten yards. To finish rep number one, again sprint forward 15 yards, touch the line and backpedal 15 yards. You’ve just completed 60 yards of running forward and backward. Rest 45 seconds and begin rep number two.

REP #2 Use the same protocol while performing the carioca. Rest 45 seconds and begin rep number three.

REP #3 Use the same protocol outlined above while performing the lateral shuffle. Repeat reps 1, 2, and 3 (4 times), until a total of 12 reps have been performed.

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30 Yard Short Shuttle Exercise time: max effort Rest interval between reps: 25-20 seconds Rest interval between sets: 2 ½ minutes Number of reps: 2 sets of ten reps During this workout you will run 2 sets of 30 yard shuttles. From the 5 yard line, sprint 5 yards to the 10 yard line and touch the line with your foot. Immediately change direction and sprint 10 yards back to the goal line. Change direction and sprint 15 yards through the 15 yard line, completing the 30 yard shuttle. Perform 10 reps and rest 2 ½ minutes and repeat ten more reps. The Ladder Rest interval: 60 seconds after the first rep, decrease 5 seconds from the rest interval after each rep.During this workout each group will run desired distance. When Group 1 finishes first rep, then Group 2 will run, and so on. After first rep (200 yds) the distance will be reduced to 180 yds. and the rest interval dropped to 55 seconds and so on.

NOTE: Rest intervals for most runs will be length of time for all three groups to complete one rep. They may not be exact to what’s listed.

DISTANCE RESTRep #1 200 yds 60 secRep #2 180 yds 55 secRep #3 160 yds 50 secRep #4 140 yds 45 secRep #5 120 yds 40 secRep #6 100 yds 35 secRep #7 80 yds 30 secRep #8 60 yds 25 secRep #9 40 yds 20 secRep 10 20 yds 15 sec

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A sample program emphasizing the lactic acid system.

The ability to tolerate and recover from large amounts of lactic acid is best met by running sprints that take about 30 to 90 seconds to complete. Run each sprint as hard as possible. Your heart rate should be about 180 BPM at the end of each sprint. This is an excellent method of bridging the gap between distance running and sprint conditioning.

LACTIC ACID INTERVAL PROGRAMOn day 1, use a work/rest ratio of 1:2, keep the rest interval the same

And try to improve your average time.WEEK DAY 1 DAY 2

1 4X400 meter (work/rest 1:2) 8x200 meter (60 sec. rest)2 5X400 meter (work/rest 1:2) 9x200 meter (60 sec. rest)3 7X400 meter (work/rest 1:2) 10x200 meter (60 sec. rest)4 7X400 meter (work/rest 1:2) 12x200 meter (60 sec. rest)

A sample program emphasizing the ATP-PC system (sprint conditioning). The ability to sprint fast and to sprint fast repeatedly is best met by interval sprint conditioning. Each sprint must be run as hard as possible. Running hard is the only way to get faster, get in shape and prevent injuries. When running sprint conditioning we use a “set and rep” approach. After running a series of “reps” with a short rest period, we will take a longer break before starting the next “set” of reps. The short rest between individual sprints provides conditioning while the longer rest between sets allows enough recovery to clear the lactic acid and keep the running speed fast.

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MAXIMUM RESULTS MINIMUM TIME

Currently, we believe there is another system of training that will produce near maximum results in both Anaerobic and Aerobic conditioning. This has been termed the Tabata protocol, named after the researcher who developed this. Using laboratory measurables, this system of training has produced the greatest increases in both aerobic and anaerobic function in the shortest time. This is one of the most intense ways of training that we have used. It is essentially a series of twenty second sprints followed by ten second rest periods. The majority of the overload comes from the short recovery time. The ten second-rest interval is just enough to keep you sprinting at a high level of intensity without allowing full recovery. The workout looks like this: Warm-up:

Very hard 3 to 5 minute run. Rest 3 minutes. 1. Sprint for 20 seconds. Rest 10 seconds. 2. Sprint for 20 seconds. Rest 10 seconds.

3. Sprint for 20 seconds. Rest 10 seconds.

4. Sprint for 20 seconds. Rest 10 seconds. 5. Sprint for 20 seconds. Rest 10 seconds.

6. Sprint for 20 seconds. Rest 10 seconds. 7. Sprint for 20 seconds. Rest 10 seconds.

8. Sprint for 20 seconds. Rest 10 seconds.

The other large component of this protocol is that it is double progressive. We train in the six to nine rep range. When all nine reps can be completed, increase the intensity and drop the reps to six. This can be set up easily on a treadmill or bike.

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SHORT SHUFFLE DIRECTIONS: Straddle the 5 yard line. On command break right and touch 10 yard line. Break left and touch goal line. Break right and finish through 15 yard line. For next rep start on 10 yard line and break left to 5 yard line. Touch line and break right to 15 yard line. Break left and finish through goal line.

UP BACKSDIRECTIONS:

A. Goal line to 5 and back

B. Goal line to 10 and back

C. Goal line to 15 and back

SEQUENCES:

1. Sprint/back pedal

2. Carioca

3. Shuffle

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LADDERDIRECTIONS:

Start on goal line. On command sprint designated distance, touch line with hand and sprint back. Rest designated time and repeat sequence until complete.

DISTANCE REST

REP #1 200 YDS 60 SEC










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VI. SKILL DEVELOPMENT We’ve already briefly addressed the need for actually playing the game to develop the specific conditioning affect required to play the game. You will observe this physiological phenomenon when you progress from the off-season, to the first week of summer camp, to the first pre-season game, and ultimately to the first regular season game. Each is performed at a new level of intensity which places specific demands on your level of conditioning. Only after the first few games will your body adapt to the level of conditioning needed to play the game as efficiently as you can. Your off-season conditioning needs to be structured in an intelligent manner that best puts you in a position to reach “game condition.” Skill and Exercise are two separate qualities. Each must be developed separately. To improve a skill you must practice that specific skill. For example, in the past we had our linemen perform the power clean. We told the linemen they would improve their skill coming out of their stance. We gave quarterbacks weighted balls to throw and also tried to imitate the throwing motion in the weight room. There are other examples we could give you but you get the point. The motor learning experts now inform us that it’s impossible to recreate the neuromuscular pattern used to perform a skill unless that specific skill is performed. As soon as you add resistance to a skill, it becomes exercise or a new skill. If you play golf regularly and borrow a friend’s driver, you realize how the slightest change can affect skill. For, example, we ask a person to practice shooting foul shots with a conventional basketball. Over time, the individual develops a neuro-muscular pattern to perform the skill. The more refined the neuro-muscular pattern, the better his skill level. He begins to recruit the same muscle fibers in the same sequence each time he shoots the ball. Weeks later, we give our foul shooter a weighted basketball. He can’t shoot the weighted ball with the same degree of accuracy as the conventional ball. The ball is heavier which forces him to recruit more fibers in a different sequence. It’s a new skill. He must learn how to shoot the weighted ball. He must develop a new neuromuscular pattern that can only be developed by shooting the weighted ball. After several weeks of practice with the weighted ball, we ask our subject to try shooting the conventional basketball. He can’t shoot with the same level of proficiency as he once could. He must now redevelop the specific skill (neuromuscular pattern) used to shoot the conventional basketball. This can only be accomplished by shooting the standard ball. The experts state that there are three types of skill transfer. They are positive, neutral, and negative transfer. Positive transfer results from the practice of the specific skill. Whatever the skill (throwing a ball, catching a ball, pass protecting, rushing the passer), you must practice that specific skill to get better at it.

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Neutral transfer results in no transfer, good or bad. Playing tennis will not help you become a better foul shooter, but it won’t hinder your skill either. Negative transfer can occur if you perform an exercise or skill similar to, but not identical to, the skill itself. It can actually adversely affect your skill level itself. It’s impossible to improve the skills you use to play the game of football without practicing those specific skills. For this reason, we don’t try to imitate movements you perform on the field with exercises in the weight room. We don’t advocate any off the plyometrics craze, running down hill, or any of the other whacko ideas we’ve all had. Realize that skills are learned and they are rapidly forgotten. They must be performed regularly to maintain. Why execute skills in the off-season that aren’t performed regularly during the season (if they are designed to help you play the game)?

It’s real simple when you rely on the facts. Strengthen your muscles in the weight room, condition the cardio-respiratory and muscular system, and practice the specific skills you use to play the game.

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VII. HORNET FLEXIBILITY TRAINING Flexibility is a term used to define joint mobility and range of motion. The greatest determiners of flexibility are age, activity level and genetics. Most conditioning programs have implemented stretching exercises to prevent injuries such as muscle pulls. Unfortunately, there is very little scientific support to substantiate that an increase in flexibility will prevent injuries. The degree of flexibility has little to do with muscle pulls. Pulls usually occur due to an athlete being out of shape, fatigued or not warmed up. There are benefits to stretching, but warming up a muscle is not one of them. The best activity you can use as a warm up is the activity itself. If you are going to be running sprints, begin by running slowly and then gradually increase your speed. Stretching will not warm up the muscles to sprint. When undergoing a stretching program, the following three stages should be adhered to: 1. WARM-UP - It is important to elevate the muscle temperature prior to stretching. This can be done during low intensity aerobic exercise such as a slow jog or riding a stationary bike. You should “break a sweat” before doing extensive stretching exercises. 2. PRE-STRETCH - Begin with a slow pre-stretch that adds only slight tension to the muscle. This position should be held for 10-30 seconds while the muscle accommodates tension. This phase should be light and should not be painful to the athlete. 3. STRETCH - During the actual stretching phase, slowly lengthen the muscle group involved. If too much tension is developed too soon, safeguards within the nervous system will be activated (e.g. excessive pain, uncontrolled muscle quivering, contraction of antagonist muscles) and the benefits of the stretch will be lost. When this happens, slowly back off and let the muscle once again relax, then proceed. The correct procedure is to develop slight tension, let this fade, then continue to achieve a greater range of motion. The specific movements you perform for your position will develop the range of motion of the muscles used to perform those activities. When you stretch, you develop a range of motion that is specific to that stretch and the limited number of fibers recruited at that point. The range of motion used in sports is different than that developed stretching. Other differences include the number of muscle fibers recruited, the violence of the movements and the many different arcs the muscle use to change direction, stop and backpedal.

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You can observe this in off-season conditioning. Run 200’s in 33 seconds until you adapt to this speed. Increase the speed to 31 seconds and a new soreness is experienced. Spend a few weeks at this speed and then increase the speed to 29 seconds. You will experience new soreness. You spent weeks running and stretching at slow speed. Soreness wasn’t experienced until you forced your muscles through a new range of motion. Play racquetball and a different soreness is experienced. Go to the driving range and a different soreness is experienced again. Start practice and the range of motion to go through drills and scrimmages will demand a new range of motion and soreness. Regardless of how much you stretch or how flexible you are, you will experience this new soreness each time you perform a new activity that takes your muscles through a different range of motion. Range of motion of the muscles involved is dictated and developed by the activity you perform. The aging process and inactivity erode your flexibility. Some lower back problems can be attributed to poor hamstring and low back flexibility. Inactive people can benefit more from stretching than active athletes. You are interested in developing “functional flexibility.” When you increase the range of motion of a joint, make sure you also increase the strength of the muscles in that new range of motion. It makes little sense to increase the range of motion of the joint without increasing strength in that new range of motion. Increasing flexibility without an increase in strength will result in joint laxity. Unless you are a contortionist, joint laxity is of no value to you and will probably increase your risk of injury. If you properly strengthen a muscle, you will increase its flexibility. A properly designed strength program should increase an athlete’s flexibility. Discipline to stretch daily if you wish. No equipment is necessary. However, do not use stretching as a warm-up.

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VIII. NUTRITIONThe value of a proper diet and good nutrition has become increasingly important in athletic performance. Good nutrition is essential for maximizing performance in athletics. Food provides us the energy to train and the building blocks to grow. The hard training athlete must be properly fueled if they are to reach their physical potential. Consistent eating patterns and attention to a balanced diet will provide you with all the benefits of good nutrition. The following information will assist you in making good choices on a daily basis. Proper nutrition and weight control is a life long habit, teach yourself proper guidelines now.

Balanced DietA balanced diet consists of: Carbohydrates: 65% of daily caloric intakeFats: 20% of daily caloric intakeProteins: 15% of daily caloric intake

Carbohydrates Fats ProteinsGrain products cheese fishVegetables oils poultryCereals butter beefRolls whole milk beansBreads ice cream eggsFruit bacon/sausagePastaRice

Guidelines for good eatingBreads/cereals/rice/pasta: 6-11 servings/dayFruits and vegetables: 5-9 servings/dayMeat/poultry/fish/dried beans/eggs/nuts: 2-3 servings/dayMilk/yogurt/cheese: 2-3 servings/dayFats and sweets: USE SPARINGLY!!!

Do not skip meals!This will result in reduced energy levels, late day overeating and will lower you BasalMetabolic Rate. EAT BREAKFAST! It is important to maintain energy levels through out the day. Breakfast gives you the energy to start your day. Skipping meals to lose weight is counterproductive. You should eat at least 3 meals per day, preferably 4-5 smaller ones. If you skip breakfast your body will have gone without nutrition for approx. 18 hours. This is not conducive to hard training.

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• Increase foods which are high in carbohydrates and grainsAdd fruits and vegetables to every meal. They are high in vitamins and minerals andgenerally high in water content and carbohydrates.Cut down on foods high in fat: red meatsporkMayonnaisecreamy salad dressingfried foodsoilsDiets high in fat can lead to: chronic exhaustion% body fat increasesmuscle tissue decreaseincreased blood pressureirritabilitystress on jointsincreased cholesterol levels

Water is the most neglected nutrient.Fluid is very important to the hard training athlete. Water makes up 65-70% of muscle.Muscles will not be able to function properly if they are dehydrated. Drink plenty of fluids priorto, during and following any athletic activity. Do not wait until you are thirsty to drink water.Athletes should drink a minimum of 6-10 12 ounce glasses of water per day.

Monitor your salt intake.Salt dehydrates the body and may cause high blood pressure. Do not salt your food, there isalready a lot in it.

Monitor your caffeine intake. (cokes, coffee)It lowers blood sugar and can make you hungrier. It is a diuretic and can be dehydrating.

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AlcoholFor those of the legal drinking age, keep the following points in mind concerning alcohol. It is a diuretic and dehydrates the body. The calories in alcohol are empty ones, the body metabolizes them similar to fat. Alcohol also disrupts sleep patterns, interferes with the metabolism of glucose (the primary source of energy), has a toxic effect on the liver and has an adverse effect on the proper muscle function. Other dangers of alcohol are to numerous to mention. It is highly tempered or better yet removed from the hard training athlete’s diet all together.

Limit your intake of sweets.They can actually lower blood sugar and make you eat more!

Good Food Choices

BreakfastPancakes/ waffles/ French toast with syrup- no buttersEgg sandwich- no sausageEnglish muffins/ toast or bran muffin with preserves/ jelly/ fruit buttersBagels with preserves/ jelly/ apple butterLow fat milk or yogurtDry or cooked cereals with or without milk and fresh or dried fruitDried fruit alone or mixed with dry cereal and nuts

Determining your daily caloric needs:In order to begin a successful weight loss or weight gain program, daily caloric needs must be determined. Daily caloric expenditure is the sum of a person’s Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), average caloric needs of daily workouts (strength training and running), and requirements for normal daily activities (walking, driving, and running errands). BMR= 1 x body weight (kg.) x 24.Once the BMR is determined, the caloric needs of daily workouts must be determined. The Hornet workout plan will require about 1000 cal/ day. The requirement for normal daily activity is approximately 500 cal/ day.For a 200 lb. AthleteBMR = 2181 cal.Daily workouts = 1000 cal.Daily activity = 500 cal.Total Daily Requirement = 3681 cal/ day

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LunchVegetable or chili stuffed potatoesSalad with low fat dressingOn salad bars add veggies, dried beans, beets, carrots, pasta, crackers, rolls bagels, breadTurkey, chicken, or roast beef sandwiches on bagel, whole grain breadAdd tomatoes, green peppers to sandwichesPasta with meat or meatless sauceTacos without sour creamBaked/ broiled meats instead of friedVegetable/ chicken soups. Cheese and creamed soups are high in fatCheese or veggie pizza

DinnerLess emphasis on meats and more on starches: Rice/ pasta/ potatoes and vegetablesMeats should be bakes/ broiled/ grilled instead of friedPasta in clam or marinara sauceFish steamed in tomato sauceChicken breast without the skin with rice and vegetablesStir fry dishes with lean meat and lots of vegetables in minimal oil

SnacksWhole grain crackersFruit juicesDried fruitPretzelsGraham crackersLow- fat yogurtFresh fruitDry cerealDry roasted nutsBread sticks*Eat every 3-4 hours*Include carbohydrates at every mealEating at homeCook double batches of pasta/ rice/ noodles/ potatoes and store them for later.Baked potatoes in microwave.Use frozen veggies and salsa to top potatoes/ pasta and rice.Buy canned clams and add to spaghetti sauce to serve on pasta.Use packaged rice or noodle dishes for time savers and add veggies to boost nutritional value.Buy black beans, mix with salsa and serve in corn tortillas with or without grated cheese.Use canned meats such as chicken/ salmon/ tuna for time savers.Buy already prepared vegetables at salad bar.Do stir fries with or without meat and add some beans.

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Weight GainMany athletes are interested in gaining weight. The type of weight an athlete needs to gain is lean body mass (muscle mass). This can only be done through a proper strength training regimen and sound nutritional habits. As a general rule, in order to gain weight you must consume more calories per day than your body expends. To do this, you must determine how many calories per day your body expends. From this total, design an eating plan in which calorie intake exceeds your daily expenditure. The addition of 400-500 calories per day above your daily requirement would add about one pound per week. The key is to ensure that the weight gained is lean muscle and not fat. Gaining more than a pound per week results in increases in body fat, assuming that you are properly hydrated. Strength training will use the extra calories to stimulate growth.Tips:Eat at least 3 large meals per day + 2-3 snacksSnacks high in calories and nutrients:NutsDried FruitsShakes/MaltsPeanut Butter sandwichesCheese or veggie pizzaGranola or cereal barsDrink juice or milk with snacks.Eat a snack after dinner. Keep a loaf of bread and peanut butter and jelly in your room.Canned tuna packed in water is also a good after dinner snack.Weight LossBigger is not always better! If you sustain muscle growth, strength and speed with a gain in weight, then bigger is batter, especially in football. For mast people this is not the case. Excess body fat restricts speed of movement by adding useless weight that must be moved at high speeds. In order for many to perform at their optimal level, a loss of weight is necessary. Weight loss is a tricky situation. Many overweight people have developed a lifestyle around eating, and in order to lose weight there has to be a lifestyle change. The method for weight loss is similar to that for weight gain. First, the amount of calories needed to maintain a specific body weight needs to be calculated. A 500-1000 calorie deficit in daily intake will result in a loss of 1-2 pounds per week. A slow reduction in body fat over a 8-10 week period is the key. Rapid weight loss will result in a loss of muscle tissue. This is counter productive.

Tips:Burn off more calories than you take in. Add aerobic exercise.Cut out all fatty foods.To lose one pound of fat, you must eliminate 3500 calories. This is preferably done through an increase in exercise and a decrease in caloric intake.Do not eat a big snack after dinner just before bed.When hungry and just before eating, drink a tall glass of water.

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Avoid alcohol.I Lose Weight Easily. How Can I Maintain My Bodyweight?Maintaining bodyweight can be a problem for some people. The active athlete requires a significant number of calories. The key is to make sure you’re eating enough calories to generate maximum gains in strength, and recover completely from exercise, practice, and games. Some players have a difficult time gaining and/or maintaining weight, especially during summer camp and the season. Others complain of fatigue and a lack of energy. These may be signs of inadequate caloric intake, and/or low carbohydrate consumption. To reach your full potential physically, you must develop a disciplined approach to eating and sleeping. How disciplined are you?

DO YOU ...Yes No Sometimes* eat breakfast seven days a week? _ _ _* consume at least 1/4 of your daily caloric requirements at breakfast? _ _ _* eat at least three meals a day at approximately the same time? _ _ _* consume a nutritious snack at mid-morning and mid-afternoon? _ _ _* eat three to five pieces of fruit a day? _ _ _* eat at least one vegetable a day? _ _ _* consume 60% of your calories from carbohydrates? _ _ _* consume only 25% of your calories from fat? _ _ _* eat from all four food groups? _ _ _* consume 20 to 30 grams of fiber a day? _ _ _* consume your necessary daily caloric intake before the day is _ _ _over on game day?* consume 300 complex carbohydrates immediately after a game to _ _ _expedite the recovery process?* eat a post game meal high on carbohydrates (and calories if necessary)? _ _ _* eat enough calories every day at summer camp to maintain your _ _ _bodyweight?* drink at least 8 (8 ounce) glasses of water/day? _ _ _* go to bed at about the same time each day? _ _ _* avoid the habit of sleeping in? _ _ _TOTAL:If you cannot answer yes to all of the above, you will make it more difficult to maintain orincrease your bodyweight. Your metabolism and activity level will ultimately determine how many calories you need each day to perform most effectively. You can use a standard formula to calculate how many calories you should consume daily.This formula should be used by players who are trying to add muscle, those who are having difficulty maintaining body weight, or those who are feeling fatigued and have difficulty recovering from workouts.

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IX. REST & RECOVERY The next section that needs to be addressed in this manual is rest and recovery. This section will be brief but is just as important as any already covered. At Edina, one of your greatest challenges will be getting enough rest so that you are able to make steady gains from your lifting and running programs. The ability to gain strength, speed and conditioning levels is based upon the quality of work performed, not the quantity of work done. An individual’s genetic makeup and sound nutrition will determine strength and size potential. The amount of exercise that one is able to recover from will also vary from athlete to athlete. You may need more time to recover than your training partner who does the same amount of exercises or runs the same distance. Everyone’s recovery systems are different. The same amount of running may be just right to stress the system of a 190 pound athlete but would be to much for the 225 pound athlete. An athlete weighing 225 pounds is performing more work running intervals than the 190 pound athlete at the same pace or time. This is why you need to follow the prescribed amount of run to rest ratio to ensure you are working within your group’s ability. The amount of rest that one needs to recover from a lifting bout will vary from athlete to athlete. Two of the biggest factors is the amount and consistency of the sleep that your get and the amount and consistency of the food that you eat. There are ways to improve your recovery. Try the following: 1. Get on a schedule. Make sure you are in bed early enough to get seven to ten hours of sleep per night. 2. Take naps whenever you can fit them in during the day. 3. Eat properly. Exercise depletes the stored sugar in your muscles. A high carbohydrate diet will allow for more sugar to be stored in your muscles. In addition, research has indicated that within an hour after exercise your body’s ability to store sugar in the muscles is at its greatest. Consequently, you should eat or drink carbohydrates within sixty minutes of training. Exercise is a form of stress and by itself produces nothing of value. It is the Stimulus for producing strength and conditioning results. It is rest that allows improvement to occur. As you gain strength or become better fit, you are performing more work. As you approach your top levels of fitness at Edina, you will need less work and more rest to maintain your top level of fitness. If you find yourself not gaining strength before you have reached your maximum level, you are probably overtraining. At this point, we will cut you back on the amount of exercise. Do not add more. You are just adding to the problem at hand.

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X. THE MENTAL COMPONENT

Privileges To be able to train hard at this point in your life is a privilege. To be an athlete playing at EDINA places you in a select group of people. Think of all the people less fortunate than you. Those with little talent, those with birth defects, those in wheelchairs and those in hospitals. To be able to lift, condition and play hard is a gift that is easily taken for granted. At some point in your life you will not be able to push your body like you can now. You will then look back with fond memories and wish you could still do what you can now. Training hard is a privilege. Remind yourself of this when conditioning. Remind yourself of this on the last reps of a set. Tell yourself this as you go through the workout trying to catch your breath. You will not be able to do this forever. Some people will never be able to do this at all. Enjoy the experience while you can.

Discipline and Self Esteem Contrary to what you might expect, discipline is not the most significant component of individual or team success. Talent and skill are the most important attributes of successful people. But without discipline, absolutely nothing of value can be accomplished. How you prepare yourself physically and mentally are indications of your commitment. The same players who commit to training are the same players who study more film, take better notes, practice harder and play harder. They are the players on who the team can rely on. Discipline is not something that can be turned on and off. Successful teams cannot have individuals decide when they will or will not be disciplined. The nature of the human mind demands that you embrace discipline in order to be happy. The happiest people in the world are the most disciplined. They can see beyond the immediate. They can delay gratification until another time. The process alone gives them a since a satisfaction and reaffirms their place in the world. Lazy and undisciplined people are invariably miserable, unsatisfied and unhappy. They never attempt anything hard, and they never accomplished anything worthwhile Sooner or later you will cross paths with friends and acquaintances from your high school days. Eventually you will see someone who, in school, was shy, introverted and unsure of himself. But upon graduation he went on to do something difficult; such as joining the military. The change in this person will no doubt be dramatic. They radiate confidence, have a bounce in their step, look you in the eye, and tell great stories of all the things they have done. You will also see people who have never done anything after school. They complain constantly, believe “society” is out to get them, have a victim’s mentality and sit around reliving their high school days. Coaches, teachers and parents who do not set expectations, provide structure, and expect self-control, are doing young people an enormous, sometimes irreparable, disservice. They are robbing that person of the only way they can truly be happy. Self-esteem and self-confidence are earned by working hard and accomplishing goals. They do not just happen to you.

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Athletes are required to compete at a much higher level when they enter college. Athletes who were successful on pure talent may become easily frustrated if they have not been required to have a consistent work ethic. These emotionally fragile and “high maintenance” personalities will take an unfair share of their teammates’ and coaches’ attention, patience and energy. A person cannot have self-confidence without struggle and accomplishment. Self-esteem cannot be taught. It is earned. The EDINA way is effort. High Intensity effort is expected in every thing that we do. Whether lifting or running, practicing or playing; less than all out is unacceptable. This effort, combined with talent, is why we are successful. It is your effort that will provide the happiness and satisfaction of your athletic career.

Concentration The ability to focus your attention for the purpose of attaining a goal is one of the characteristics of being human. It defines your actions and separates you from animals. Observe a dog for a few moments. All he can do is react to his environment. Every sight, sound, and smell draws his attention equally. His actions are limited to responding. He can not focus his mind to achieve a goal. You, being different from an animal, can decide where you will put your mental energy. The things on which you choose to concentrate will decide what you do, and ultimately what you become. Concentration is the consolidation, collection and application of what is important at the moment. Noted psychologist Dr. Mihaly Csikszentimihalyi has stated that the human mind is only capable of consciously evaluating about 126 bits per second. And even this processing rate can be limited. For instance, it is very difficult to listen to two conversations at the same time, and it is impossible to listen to and understand three or more conversations taking place at once. This limitation on how much information your mind can process dictates that you cannot be passive, unconscious and oblivious to the world around you and accomplishes anything of value. You must choose the elements on which you will focus your mind. A high level of mental focus does not come naturally but it can improve with practice. Concentration is only developed through the choice and the effort to improve your ability to focus your mental labor. Your ability to concentrate will ultimately decide your success in any endeavor. The world is full of talented unsuccessful people who let their minds wander or fixate their attention on unproductive and unimportant things. The ability to consolidate your mental effort on a task can make up for a lack of talent, simply because so few people are willing to exert the required energy over the long run. Training at EDINA is serious business. There is no way you can be successful at training if your attention is divided. The high intensity effort and attention to detail that are necessary in order to get maximum results demands a singleness of purpose while training. Athletes looking for excuses and distractions will easily find them. They can complain about the music, the weather or the early morning hours. They can talk about their schoolwork or about last night’s party. Ultimately each person must choose before he walks through the door whether or not this workout will be important and successful.

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The phrase, “He has potential” is loaded with unfulfilled promise. It implies that a person is not realizing their complete talent. Why? What is stopping them? What is their rate-limiting factor? Your ability to reach your potential during your athletic career will be a function of your willingness to focus your mind on the immediate task at hand. Over the course of your life, you will become the product of the choices of where you put your mental effort and concentration.

Leadership and Coach-ability All successful teams have effective leaders who provide encouragement and discipline. They demonstrate how to behave and establish the team work ethic. They are the confidence and the reinsurance in adverse times. They pass to the younger players the team traditions of work ethic, personal accountability, practice pace, training hard and playing hard. They serve as extensions of the coaching staff. A leader must want the responsibility that comes with that place on the team. A leader must want to shape the team in his image. To become a leader, you must first learn to follow instructions. You will not know how to give instructions or enforce team rules until you have followed them yourself. Your credibility as a leader will only be as good as your ability to follow. Your work ethic and practice habits will determine if your teammates listen when you speak. A person who is only a vocal leader is ineffective and can actually produce effects that are the opposite of what everyone desires. Teammates will resent him and tune him out and consequently not listen to others who have something valuable to say. So before you “talk the talk” be sure you have “walked the walk.” Effective leaders have a command presence. Everyone knows who is in charge without anyone saying it. Everyone knows that this person “walks the walk.” An interesting question for athletes to ask themselves is “Am I coachable?” Read that question again. If I am not coachable, why? For the most part, coaches, teachers and parents want only the best for you. They want to see you improve. They want to see you win. Certainly a coach with twenty years of experience has information that can help you. If you want to lead the team, you will also have to be able to follow directions. Leadership and coach-ability are inseparable.

The Training Mentality The highest compliment we can give one of our athletes is to say of him, “He has a training mentality.” This person has an enthusiasm for effort. He expects and forces improvement every workout. His personal accountability is at a higher standard than anyone else could hold him to. He takes an interest and responsibility in his teammates training and progress. Few athletes who begin with us have a training mentality. But it can be developed. Athletes will go through three distinct mental phases during their training career. They are;

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1. Fear and Apprehension: This phase is marked by a genuine terror and possible attempts of avoidance of the

upcoming workout and ensuing discomfort associated with it. For a minority of these athletes, the psychological stress is very real and can be related to any number of things, including a low pain tolerance. The majority of athletes who stay for very long in this phase are typically talented and extremely successful at lower levels without ever having discipline, accountability or a work ethic demanded of them.

Because of their overwhelming talent, they have had coaches, parents and administrators hold their hand, coddle them and make excuses for them for most of their life. Athletes who stay in the Fear and Apprehension stage of training usually have very fundamental personal responsibility problems, as long as it does not affect playing time. They do not register for class on time. They miss doctor and tutor appointments. They forget to be at events. People who hold them accountable for their responsibilities are always viewed as “wrong” and “out to get them.” They hold a victim’s mentality. Athletes in the Fear and Apprehension stage best respond to a coaching style that can be described as “animated.” The coach will have to scream, turn up the music and run around like a maniac. The coach will lie and cajole and shout, “One more!” seven times in row in order to get six more reps out of the person. At this stage, the coach is the only one capable of generating any intensity or energy. Most responsible people do not stay in the Fear and Apprehension phase for very long. 2. Acceptance and Duty:

Virtually all of our athletes reach this mental phase of training due to the accountability, attendance, consistency and effort in our program. The majority of people will settle at this level, if allowed. These athletes will rarely miss a workout, they will start workouts on time, train hard, and accept training as something they must do. Athletes in this mental phase of training are good soldiers. Unfortunately, unless they have unbelievable talent or a very strong personality, they will not be good leaders.

They cannot lead in the weight room or in conditioning, at least not consistently. Like most people, they are inherently self-centered. They are concerned with their own development, but they will only occasionally show concern for a teammate’s training. They cannot sustain interest in other people, or their activities, or their development or their accountability to the team. They will talk the talk of a leader though, because it is what they think is expected of them. Sustained effort outside of their own interests is their rate-limiting factor in team dynamics and leadership roles. 3. The Training Mentality:

This is the highest mental phase that an athlete can reach. Almost all people can achieve this if they choose. This mindset is neither a magical, mystical place, nor does a person have to have talent for athletics or training in order to achieve this level. Athletes who have this mindset have chosen it. Working at the absolute highest levels of effort is really not that big of a deal for them. They no longer view training as a requirement, but as something that they “just do.” They do not psych themselves out before hand. They do not panic while the intensity and pain level increase. They can

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separate physical discomfort from their emotional response to the discomfort. This does not mean that they are emotionally apathetic to the pain, but that they can identify their response and the discomfort for what it is. They realize that the source of their discomfort and their responses to it are separable entities. At the highest level of effort and concentration, these athletes will draw into themselves. Rather than project their pain and discomfort for the whole room to view, they internalize that energy and place it into the rep that they are trying to complete. Coaches and athletes who observe this for the first time are usually stunned. While there is not the usual dog and pony show that passes for “hard training” at most schools, there is a quiet confidence and building of physical and mental energy with each repetition. First time observers will think to themselves, “Surely that is his last rep. He will set the weight down now.” For up to six reps in row.

These athletes have the potential to be the best leaders because they are the most credible. Regardless of talent, their teammates respect them because of their courage and consistency. These athletes can lead by action, even if they are not the most vocal or most skilled. When they speak, their teammates know that what is stated is coming from someone who truly “walks the walk.” A person with a high level of talent, a strong personality and a Training Mentality can become a phenomenal leader. They can shape the complete personality of the team. They can literally change the course of season. A handful of people like this can turn good soldiers into champions. Athletes at this level of mental ability respond to a style of coaching that can best be described as “subtle.” As the exercise becomes more intense, the athlete has learned to draw deeper and deeper into his mental reserves. He is involved in an internal dialogue that does not use words. Yelling and screaming are distractions. Other people are distractions. The coach should make most of his points before the set starts. Once the exercise begins, the coach should pick his words and moments appropriately. If the coach does not have the years of experience supervising and teaching athletes such as this, or if he does not know this particular athlete’s psychological make-up as good as his own, he should just be quiet. Unfortunately, most coaches who fall in this category won’t recognize the situation. Or, they will not be able to identify the athletes who have a Training Mentality. This is part of the “Art of Coaching.” It cannot be taught. The coach will have to make some sincere honest mistakes along the way and then figure it out for himself.

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Sustained Effort “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing.”

-Winston Churchill Most people can get excited for a short burst of time. Everybody can give maximum effort sporadically. Most everyone can concentrate on a task for a few minutes. But the true measure of character is the ability of a person to sustain that effort over the long run. None of this is easy. If it were easy, everyone would do this. Never allow yourself the luxury of having a bad day. Create intensity for yourself. Create energy for your teammates. Always be “on.” Be the bright spot. Never allow self-pity and self doubt to creep in. Never quit on a rep. Never quit on a set. Never yield to fatigue. Never concede a possession. Never quit playing to win. Never quit. Never quit. Never quit. Never.

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XI. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

How can I get bigger? How do I put on weight? Getting bigger and stronger is really a simple process. You must first overload your muscles to give them a reason to grow. This means training in a hard, progressive fashion. You must then give your body enough rest and food to allow growth to occur. Of course, proper training is where it all starts. No amount of food or rest will get you bigger without muscle overload. In order to overload, you must expose your muscles to demands that are greater than they are momentarily capable of performing. Assuming the body has been properly trained, you need to provide more calories than are needed for maintenance of body weight. If you are currently eating at a level that has you maintaining your body weight, then you need to eat slightly more. If your are very active, you can estimate your daily caloric needs by the following formula: Daily Calories = BW x 19 So, if you weigh 200 lb. you would estimate your maintenance calorie level at 3800 Calories. In order to gain approximately one pound of muscle per week, we suggest adding 500 Calories a day to your maintenance level. The 200 lb. player would eat 4300 Calories per day. But this is just an estimate. The actual Calorie level will have to be adjusted for activity level and differences in metabolic rate. While trying to put on weight, it is important to monitor your waistline. If you begin putting on fat, your are eating at a rate faster than you can put on muscles. The increase in fat will make you a slower, less athletic player. It will also set you up for health problems later in life. We never suggest that a player “bulk-up” by adding ten pounds of fat in an attempt to add five pounds of muscle. If your pants begin to feel a little tighter around the waist, back off on the amount that you are eating. Simply put, lift hard and eat a little bit more, but not so much that you get fat.

How can I bulk up? Is there a lifting program that develops size? Should I train like a powerlifter in order to get big? One of the myths that have been handed down through the years is that there are separate programs that can be used to develop size, strength, power, definition, and short term muscular endurance. Almost any program will deliver at least some results, but your development will be based upon your genetic potential. If a powerlifter’s program made everyone who used

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it big and bulky, then why is the 132-pound powerlifter not big and bulky? Your potential for size and strength was determined at conception and can not be changed by the type of program used. (As a side note; the two most competitive powerlifting weight classes, in terms of numbers and ability, are usually the 181 and 198 pound classes. Not the super heavyweights.) Just as playing basketball will not make you seven feet tall, using a powerlifter’s program will not change your genetic predisposition to put on muscle. Dick Conner is one of this country’s most successful powerlifting coaches. He has nearly fifty years of training experience and has coached the sport of powerlifting since its inception over thirty years ago. In an interview with Chuck Clark, Mr. Conner had some very insightful thoughts on the sport of powerlifting and how it relates to strength training and athletics.

Q: ...you don’t think powerlifting is a safe sport necessarily? A: No.

Q: What differences should a person not interested in powerlifting, but wanting to get big and strong, train? A: If you want to train safely and get as big and strong as you can, you have to move the weight with good control...you have to lift with control and work the muscle...you got to keep the force off the joint. You can build muscle size and strength without tearing up your body.

Q: So what is it about powerlifting exactly that tears up your body? Is it the low reps? A: That, and more than anything, how you handle the weight. You are trying to demonstrate strength. You use skill. And skill has nothing to do with building strength. Skill has to do with demonstrating how strong you are. When you’re demonstrating how strong you are, you’re in a dangerous place. I don’t care who you are. Some guys can get by with it. A lot of guys can’t.

Q: A lot of athlete’s programs are based heavily on powerlifting and on one rep maxes, etc. Do you think that is the best way to train athletes: basketball players, football players, wrestlers, and other athletes? A: No, I think that’s ridiculous. There’s no reason for a wrestler, football player or whatever to max out. Powerlifters have to do that. That’s their sport. Repetitions are safer than maxes. If you have to test a guy, test his 10 rep max. It’s all the same thing anyway. If his 10 rep max goes up, so will his 1 rep max.

Q: How would you suggest these guys train?

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A: To start off with, most high school players don’t have any business squatting...if a guy really gets into this stuff and he wants to take all the chances, he should at least know he is taking them. If he wants to handle heavy weights and gets a lot of satisfaction out of squatting and deadlifting, that’s a choice he has made. He just needs to understand he can get hurt doing them.

Q: How do you feel about explosive movements like power cleans? A: I don’t believe in them. I don’t believe explosive exercises make you explosive. It’s how hard you work the muscle that is usable for running and jumping.

Q: What about some people who believe that because these movements look similar, they should improve running, jumping, etc. A: No, that’s nonsense too. A muscle has a function and that dictates to you how to train it. You should train a muscle through it’s function and go out on the field and play the sport exactly how you want to play it. Specificity of skill is true. Can’t make an exercise that resembles the sport and come out ahead. You’re not going to work the muscle as hard as you could and it causes a greater chance of injury?

Q: Do you feel the squat is the best lower body exercise? A: Yeah, but I don’t think everybody can squat and I don’t think everybody is interested enough to work at it...For instance, a tall guy, it’s tough to squat. It’s hard to learn how to squat and see everybody in the gym with better body proportions squatting three times as much. Guys say that if you don’t squat you won’t realize your potential...if a guy thinks he can squat and build great strength and size without working hard, he’s crazy. He’s got to work it hard too. In some cases, spending so much time learning how to do it, he never gets to work it hard. He struggles with doing it correctly. ...I think the biggest mistake in weight training is jerking and yanking on weights. Overtraining is bad, but jerking and yanking causes problems too and it doesn’t necessarily happen today. It could be maybe ten or 15 years down the road. If you have a lifetime interest in this stuff, you should get into your brain that you have to keep the weight loaded...smooth and under control. School is not out on what happens to people after 40 or 50 years of this stuff. You want to last. To do that, you must understand how to keep the force off the joint. That’s the only way I can explain it...strength training has a value and the value is not necessarily going to the gym and seeing how much you can lift. It really should be having a healthy body. It should be the number one reason a person goes to the gym for and that means having healthy joints for as long as you can...When you are 25, you don’t care if you will be alive at 60, but you will. When you hit 60, you’ll care about the health of your joints. Most of the powerlifters at 60 didn’t

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start when they were 20; they started when they were 50. People are always bragging, “look that guy didn’t start lifting till he was 50, look what he can do.” Well, that’s because he started when he was 50. Had he started when he was 20; he wouldn’t be lifting still.

Wise words from as wise man that has been there. A powerlifting program can make you bigger and stronger, but it is not specific to the needs of the athlete unless that athlete is a competitive powerlifter. It is too time consuming, dangerous, slow paced and unbalanced for the competitive athlete who must train year round, prevent injuries, and stay at peak strength throughout a four to six month competitive season. The best method to use is a system of comprehensive exercise performed in a high intensity, maximum effort fashion for moderate repetitions, executed in a safe manner. What is the best set and rep scheme to get stronger? I used pyramid training before and my bench went up. Isn’t this the best way? Any program of sets and reps will work as long as it is done in a progressive fashion. Pyramiding, the scheme of starting with a light weight for many repetitions and doing successive sets with increasing weight and decreasing repetitions, is a method that competitive weight lifters have used. Each set prepares the muscles and nervous system for a progressively heavier weight so that the lifter can work up to a one-rep max., or close to it. While performing a pyramid bench routine, a powerlifter may do 135 lbs. x 10 reps, 185 lbs. x 8 reps, 225 lbs. x 6 reps, 275 lbs. x 4 reps and 300 lbs. x 2 reps. It should be obvious that if an athlete can lift 300 lbs. for 2 reps, 225 lbs. for 6 reps is not going to do anything to increase his strength. Yet an athlete can spend a good 15 to 20 minutes doing just one exercise using the above program. Pyramiding, and schemes like it, are leftovers from the days when strength coaches came from competitive lifting backgrounds. Besides the time limitation, there are obvious conflicts with the rest of the program. For instance, if sets of 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 are the best way to get strong, then that is what should be used for the most important body parts. In the case of a football player, that would be the neck region. Using the above logic, he should do 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 for the front of his neck, for the back of his neck, for the left side of his neck, for the right side of his neck, and for shrugs. Twenty-five total sets for the neck. At least an hour and fifteen minutes of work. Ridiculous? You bet! The modern strength program needs to be based on physiological fact. We no longer use myths, superstition and outdated methods for our athletes. Their time and safety is too valuable. Everything we do needs have a purpose. For this reason we do one to three maximum effort sets of moderate repetitions, with true progression being the driving force of our workouts.

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What is the best way to become explosive on the field? Should I do power cleans? Should I try to move the weight as fast as I can? The history of the use of the power clean in the training of athletes has its roots in the influence of Olympic weightlifters on the early days of the strength and conditioning field. Football coaches looking for an advantage hired coaches to teach their athletes how to lift weights. At the time, there were very few people who had any expertise or knowledge in the field. Naturally, they hired who appeared to be experts, the competitive Olympic weight lifters. The coaches believed that training like an Olympic lifter would cause their athletes to take on the physical qualities of the elite competitive lifters. What these early strength coaches knew about training athletes had everything to do with performing two very specific lifts and nothing to do with the actual demands of the sport of the athletes they were training. The power clean is just one variation of the two competitive Olympic lifts - the snatch and the clean and jerk. Other variations include the hang clean, split clean, power shrug, high pull, power snatch, push press, jerk press and many others. Olympic lifters use these mutations of the snatch and the clean and jerk to train certain phases of the complex two competitive lifts. In order to justify the high injury rate and difficulty in learning these exercises, many myths and superstitious arose around these lifts. One being that moving a weight quickly will make “fast” muscles, and another being that the power clean is specific to the skills of the offensive lineman and transfers “explosiveness” to the skills of the sport. Moving a weight quickly will not develop fast muscles. According to the size principle of muscle fiber recruitment, it is the “intent” to move a weight quickly that allows you to recruit the strongest, most powerful muscles fibers, not that the weight actually moves fast. In other words, it is the attempted maximum effort against a weight that has momentarily become virtually impossible to move that allows the nervous system to recruit and fire the most explosive muscle fibers. In fact, if the weight can be moved fast, it will be too light to allow maximum muscle fiber recruitment. Up to a certain point, you can always recruit more muscle fibers at a slower speed. As we explored in the section on specificity of skills, a skill is exactly specific to the task or it is not. There is no such thing as “almost “ specific. Any movement performed with added resistance will obviously be slower than the same movement performed on the field without resistance, therefore violating the principle of specificity of speed of movement. The added resistance will also change the “pattern” of the movement, violating what the motor learning experts call the encoding principle of learning. Athletes and coaches sometime take the transfer of learning for granted. They assume almost anything will help them perform better on the field. Nothing could be further from the truth. The central nervous system learns and stores only essential information. The ability of the body to retain high levels of skill, strength and conditioning is very poor.

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The only way to retain and transfer skills to the playing field is to practice literally thousands of specific repetitions exactly as performed in competition. Just ask a basketball player what happens to his shot if he does not shoot for a few days. He has lost a certain amount of what the nervous system now perceives as nonessential information. Yet the power clean has been described as being specific for everything from tackling to rowing a boat to swinging a golf club. How can one exercise be “specific” for so many tasks? It can’t. The myth of weight room transfer of skills is just that. If skills learned in the weight room transferred to the field, shouldn’t skills learned on the field transfer to the weight room? Think about that point for a moment. If that were the case, the most explosive players would automatically be the best power cleaners. Or put another way, the best Olympic lifters should be the best players. This is rarely the case. Many factors come into play as to who actually performs best in practice and games, not the least of which is the mental component. In football for instance, the most explosive players are not necessarily the ones with the best power clean or vertical jump, but the ones with the most contact courage. If a player does not have this, no amount of any kind of lifting will change his perceived on the field explosiveness. The way to get more explosive on the field is to first practice in a game specific fashion as much as possible. You must then strengthen the muscles so that you can apply as much force as possible in a skillful fashion. The hours necessary to learn the Olympic lift variation can better be put to use practicing, watching film, studying scouting reports, meeting with coaches, performing productive strength and conditioning exercises, going to class, doing homework and having a social life. Interestingly, the best Olympic weightlifting coaches and teams do not do many power cleans and the Olympic lift mutations anymore. The most successful coach in the history of Olympic weightlifting is a fellow by the name of Ivan Abadjiev. He has coached the Bulgarian weightlifting team for over twenty years, taking his lifters to the absolute top of international dominance. Abadjiev has found that the Olympic lift variations do not transfer to the competitive lifting platform like once believed. Abadjiev and his fellow coaches are opposed to most anything but the specific lifts performed in competition. The modern Olympic weightlifters train almost exclusively the clean and jerk, the snatch, and the squat at near competition weights. If the power clean does not transfer to the clean and jerk, why would it transfer to an offensive lineman performing the complexities of a zone block, or a point guard shooting a jumper? All of us are a product of the things we have been exposed to. There was a time when we really believed all the myths until we were exposed to more information. And we were not always ready to change when presented with new facts. At times our education has been slow and painful. You may say we were unable to learn even though we had the information clearly presented to us. We have made our share of mistakes as coaches. Conversations with today’s power clean advocates are very revealing. We have been told that the clean was “just like” run blocking at one moment

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in a discussion and then “just like” pass blocking fifteen minutes later. The next day we were told it was “just like” diving into a pool, “just like” dunking a basketball and “just like” tackling. Which is it? The old saying, “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” seems to fit here. Make no mistake about it, Olympic weightlifting is a very demanding sport. So are football, basketball, swimming and tennis. I have a lot of respect for competitive Olympic weightlifters and I am one of the few people who actually enjoys watching it as a spectator sport. But just because Olympic weightlifting is a tough game does not mean it is the best way to prepare athletes in other sports. Believe me when I tell you that competitive Olympic weightlifters do not practice explosive blocking, tackling or rebounding in order to better explode into the bar. Does that seem stupid to you? It is. An Olympic weightlifter would not accept the risk of injury and waste his time blocking, tackling or rebounding when he could be putting that time and risk into his chosen sport. He wouldn’t even do it in his “off-season.” Why take the risk and considerable time to perform the Olympic lifts and the various mutations when you could put that exact same time into practice? Much of the fascination with the Olympic lifts is related to the speed of movement. Olympic weight lifting coaches frequently admonish their athletes to “think speed.” When lifts are missed the athlete is coached to increase the speed of bar. Experts who study movement measure speed in terms of degrees per second. They literally measure how fast the joint rotates. The standard repetition speed in our weight room would probably measure about 60 degrees per second. A 140 degree barbell curl would take a little over two second to complete the raising portion of the rep. The speed many people consider “fast” or “explosive” in the weight room would measure approximately 180 degrees per seconds. The same barbell curl performed at this speed would take about three-fourths of a second. In competition, a fast athlete can rotate some joints well in excess of 1000 degrees per second. This is a factor five to ten times greater than the speed consider “fast” in the weight room. “Explosive” lifting is only “fast” relative to a controlled rep. Relative to the athletic field it is quite slow. So slow, in fact, that if you moved at that speed in competition you would lose every time. If speed is what was needed in order to develop muscles, there would be no need to lift weights. You get speed and explosion every day in practice. Muscle growth, strength and power development are adaptations to high tension and high intensity muscular contraction. High tension exercise and high speed exercise are mutually exclusive. You can have one or the other but you can’t have both. If you don’t believe me, strap two hundred pounds to your body and see how fast you can run. It is all very simple when you rely on the facts. There is no skill that will transfer from the weight room to the field. Strength training develops the raw material of the body. Skills are learned in practice and repetition.

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Will using free weights help my balance and coordination? Which is better, free weights or machines? Sometimes when I lift weights for a while without bench pressing, my bench goes down even though my strength in all my other exercises goes up. Does this mean I’m getting weaker? As discussed previously, there is no skill that is learned in the weight room that will transfer to the field. There are as many balancing skills as there are objects to balance. Being able to balance a stick on your nose doesn’t mean you can spin a basketball on your finger. If you can’t balance yourself by now, you can’t play at Edina. Free weights and machines are just tools to place stress and tension on your muscles. At Edina we use barbells, dumbbells, machines, leverage equipment, manual resistance, and body weight exercises. This provides variety psychologically and physically, allowing us to use change as a motivator. Your muscles cannot tell where the tension comes from. It is far more important the way the tools are used. Your passion, effort and intensity will determine your results, not the equipment. Each type of equipment has advantages and disadvantages. Free weights are cheap, low maintenance, and readily available. Dumbbells and barbells are versatile and can be used for many exercises. The barbell, as we know it, was developed in 1902. Before this time, people interested in exercise used fixed weights and kettle bells that could not be easily adjusted for varying degrees of resistance. Compared to anything before it, the barbell was a stroke of genius. But the barbell is not without limitations. There are some exercises that cannot be done with free weights that can be done with a machine. How would you do a leg curl with a barbell? Another disadvantage is that free weights provide resistance in only one direction - straight down - while your muscles move in a rotary fashion, producing areas in the movement that are heavier or lighter than they should be. A properly designed machine can provide balanced rotary resistance throughout a much greater range of motion than a free weight. A good machine can do anything that a free weight can do except develop the skills of performing that particular exercise with a free weight. While lifting weights, some of the strength increases are a direct result of your nervous system becoming more coordinated at doing that particular exercise. The more difficult the exercise is to learn or balance, the greater the amount of neurological contribution to the initial strength gains. If you are competitive powerlifter or weight lifter, then you must use a free weight in the exercises in which you compete in order to be as skilled as possible in that event. If you are not a competitive lifter, then it doesn’t matter. We don’t do “a lot” of bench pressing at Edina, only because we can get better results in less time doing other things. We do bench press though, because many players like to and it can be a productive exercise. We just don’t spend thirty minutes doing it. Occasionally, we have athletes who are finished playing who want to get “good” at the exercise. They begin spending time bench pressing, using a routine from their favorite muscle magazine. Initially they are able to increase their weights every

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workout. They might even begin to say, “Man, I wish we had used this routine our whole career. Think how strong we would be.” Six weeks later, their bench is up twenty pounds and they are not making any more progress. This is the same thought process that runs through the head of every beginning lifter who makes a five pound increases each of his first eight workouts and figures at that rate he will be bench 400 pounds in six months. What happens is this: The lifter’s skill level in that particular exercise has caught up to his strength level. The initial neurological adaptations take place very fast compared to actual functional strength increases. One trick new strength coaches use when they first come into a program is to “test” the players to see “how much” they lift. They will choose exercises that the athletes have not done, have not done often, have not done in a long time, or have not trained in the fashion that the new coach tests (e.g., one rep max. instead of repetitions). He will then test them eight weeks later and show a huge “increase” in “strength” in order to make himself look good. This is called “pushing numbers” and is neither difficult to do nor the best way to train athletes.

How can I get faster? How can I increase my jumping ability? Will running with parachutes tied to my body help? This is by far the most frequently asked question. Players who really want to improve know that speed can be the deciding factor. At the end of this section, we will reveal the secret to getting faster. Sprinting and jumping are types of activities that the motor learning expert Edwin Fleishman termed abilities. Abilities are a “general trait or capacity of an individual that is related to the performance of a variety of motor skills.” In other words, abilities set limits on the degree of success a person can achieve for a motor skill. Motor learning experts believe that abilities are primarily genetically determined. Skills, on the other hand, are a demonstration of a learned activity. Two athletes of different abilities can display similar levels of skill through differences in practice, experience, training and desire. The section on running mechanics in this manual teaches you the most efficient way to run. By practicing running technique, along with starting and finishing techniques, we have consistently improved forty yard dash times. But the limitations of this are obvious: You never run a controlled, tested, forty yard dash in a game. You may improve your forty by 0.2 seconds but may or may not improve your pass rush speed. Coaches have been trying to improve speed for as long as there has been sports. At some point, we have tried all of the following. Running up hills, running down hills, running stadium steps, jumping on boxes, jumping off boxes, running with ankle weights, running with parachutes, running through tires, running against rubber tubing, and get this, running while having a car pull us!

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We’ve had some flat-out crazy ideas. And we’re not the only ones. Every month we get a catalog from a company that sells “speed products.” If we bought one of all the stuff in the brochure (all of which are “necessary”) it would cost $3,730.59. Because we all have a desire for greater speed, a whole industry has been created to fill this “need.” Consequently, speed quacks are as common as nutrition quacks. Some of these devices are actually drills that track athletes use at different times of the year. A track sprinter prepares for one or two specific events. He does not have to practice, watch film, condition for a different sport, rehab and recover from many games for several months. He has time to try some of these speed gadgets. You barely have time to recover between games. Interestingly, many track athletes and coaches do not use many of the devices used by others. There is no consensus of opinion about some of these techniques. Furthermore, many of these methods are used at very specific times of the year after months of preparation for a specific meet. In the past, we had taken what the track coaches were doing out of context of that particular sport. The result was, at best, a dilution in the training intensity of our conditioning. At worst, players pulled and were injured performing “speed drills” that they had not spent months of specialized running preparing for. Can speed be improved? Obviously, yes. Experienced athletes will tell you that they are at their fastest at the end of the season when their skills are at their peak. This is especially true if they have continued to lift, condition and practice hard. Most athletes also observe they are slowest after the few weeks or months that they take off of training once the season ends. Is there a limit on speed improvement? Obviously, yes. The world record in the 100 meter dash has been reduced by 0.1 second in the last 20 years. In other words, the best in the world training full time and using a variety speed drills and techniques have improved the world record by about 1 meter. At 18 years old, Carl Lewis ran a 9.3 second hundred yard dash, which would be the equivalent of a 10.10 second hundred meter dash. At the peak of his career, at age 27 he had improved to 9.92 seconds. Do you think Carl Lewis did speed and track drills? Of course he did. He trained ten years full time at a couple of events to improve his speed by about 5.5 feet over a ten second run. Just by getting stronger, we have consistently improved the forty yard dash speed of most of our athletes by more than the 0.18 seconds that Mr. Lewis improved his 100 meter time. Getting in great shape and losing fat has produced further improvements in many players. Improving running mechanics and start technique have allowed some to increase their speed a little more. Track speed is nice to have, but sport speed is more important. We have all seen people who can run fast in a straight line but cannot change direction. Or more commonly, can change direction at a cone or spot on the field but cannot change

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direction in response to an opponent or changing condition. Effort and experience, combined with good genetics, results in sport speed or the fastest players on the field. We have seen “4.8 speed” catch “4.6 speed” from behind in the heat of competition because he wanted (effort) to get there and he knew how to get there (experience and coaching.) The lesson of all this? As an athlete, you have to decide how much time and energy you are going to invest in different task in order to improve. Everything is not of equal value. Before you can determine if an activity has a positive affect on your speed, you must first get yourself in great running shape. You must lift, run, condition, stretch, lose fat and practice running fast. Periodically time yourself electronically. Eventually your speed will level off. You simply can’t run any faster. At this point, add one new activity to your training that you believe will improve your speed. After a short period of time you should observe an increase in your speed. If you do not, it’s obvious the new activity had no impact on improving your speed. Continue experimenting with one activity at a time until you have tried all the activities that purportedly improve speed. Don’t expect to begin the off-season out of shape and then perform a multitude of activities and expect to know which, if any, actually had an impact on improving your speed. Now, here is the speed secret. In order to get faster, you must run fast. Really. Review the section on skill specificity. Running as hard as possible will increase your speed. How can you expect to improve your forty yard dash if you always run it slower than full speed? How can you improve your game speed if you spend most of your practice time running slower than all out? Running and practicing hard is the only way to improve speed. By consistently practicing your skills at game speed, you will become faster in the game.

There is no substitute for hard running. This does not mean that all of our conditioning needs to be forty yard sprints, just as all of practice does not need to be a scrimmage. Understand the purpose of the things you do. And when it is time to go full speed, sprint as hard as you can!

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€¦ · Web viewWe’ve observed that many young players coming into our program have ignored the neck and the shoulder capsule. For that reason, we urge young players to begin