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WS4SBWestside or Skinny Bastards Part 3

Joe DeFranco

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THE FINAL CHAPTER

Westsideor SkinnyBastardsPart 3by Joe Deranco

When I wrote the original Skinny

Bastards article, I had a feeling

it would generate a great deal of

discussion. To be honest, though,

I had no idea it would become as

popular as it has. At least 75% of

the hundreds of emails I receive on

a weekly basis refer in some way to

the WS4SB program. First, a bit of

history
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Ater a year o answeringquestions about my originalarticle and making modicationsto it in the gym with my athletes,I decided to write Part 2. In thatsecond installment, I discussed howto incorporate running workoutsinto the original training template.

Another two years have passednow, and the avalanche o questionsinvolving WS4SB continues to kill myinbox! This is what prompted me tosit down and provide more answersto the most common questionspeople have been asking. In this, mythird and nal chapter, I will clariythe ollowing:

Hopeully, ater youre done readingthis article, most o your questionsregarding the WS4SB saga will beanswered. Unlike Sylvester Stallone,

I will not drag this out into a 6-partseries. I know when to call it quits!Im condent that what youre aboutto read will end the Westside orSkinny Bastards trilogy on top! Iwant you to nd your answers here,once and or all, so you can spendmore time in the gym training andless time on the computer askingquestions!

So, without urther ado, I present toyou, Westside or Skinny Bastards III

The Final Chapter

A new 4-day-a-weekstrength trainingtemplate or the of-season

Explanation o warm-up sets

New ways to incorpo-rate speed trainingand conditioning intothe program

Sample in-season training templates

Bonus Washed-upMeathead template

The importance oincluding indicatorexercises in your pro-gram

Not a good way to end a series
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4-DAY STRENGTH TRAINING TEMPLATE

My original Skinny Bastard templateconsisted o three strength train-ing days with an optional ourth day.

Although a 3-day template is sucient

or building size and strength, I quickly

realized that most people want to train

more. WS4SB3 will now provide you

with a 4-day strength training template.

Its been over three years since I wrote

the original article, so it s about time you

skinny bastards graduated to a 4-day

split that more closely resembles a tra-

ditional Westside split! First, Ill reveal

the new and improved template. Ater

that, Ill go over the specic details youll

need to know.

You can also split up the training like

this

Now that the new template is in place, Ill reveal the changes Ive made since my orig

nal article

MONDAY Max-EortUpper Body

TUESDAY Dynamic-EortLower Body

WEDNESDAY O

THURSDAY RepetitionUpper Body

FRIDAY Max-EortLower Body

SATURDAY O

SUNDAY O

MONDAY Max-EortLower Body

TUESDAY O

WEDNESDAY Max-EortUpper Body

THURSDAY O

FRIDAY Dynamic-Eort

Lower Body

SATURDAY O

SUNDAY RepetitionUpper Body

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NOTES...

Not much about the max-eort move-

ment has changed since my original

article was published. I still preer a 3-5

rep max (RM) - as opposed to a 1RM - or

my skinny bastards. The one thing that

has changed youll notice this later

on in this article - is the second move-

ment on max-

eort upper body

day. We recently

started having our

athletes perorm

two high-rep sets

o an exercise im-

mediately ollow-

ing the max-eortmovement.

This high-rep

movement is usu-

ally an exercise thats closely related to

the max-eort movement. For example,

i our athletes perormed a 3RM in the

bench press, their second exercise may

be two sets o dumbbell benches. We

dont do this all the time, but its a new

twist in our templates that wasnt

covered in previous articles.

Dynamic-Efort Lower Body

This is obviously the biggest change

rom my original skinny bastard pro-

gram. In my original program there were

absolutely no dynamic days. I didnt

use them because I believed my skinny

bastards needed to devote all their time

to building muscle and developing

strength. Ater all, you cant fex bone!

Although the main ocus o my modied

Westside program is still to build muscle

and strength, Ive had tremendous suc-

cess during the past year by incorporat-

ing a dynamic-eort lower body day

into the program.

My dynamic-eort lower body day, how-

ever, is not what you think. With apolo-

gies to all the skinny bastards that were

about to lace up their Chuck Taylors,

throw on their avorite Westside t-shirt,

strap some bands and chains onto the

barbell and start squatting explosively-- youre not ready or that yet! Experi-

ence has shown me that skinny bastards

do NOT respond well to having a barbell

on their back two

times per week.

Its simply too

taxing on their

bodies and they

cant recover.

Also, most skinny

bastards have a

hard enough time

box squatting

with a controlled

tempo, so why on

earth would I try

to have them perorm the lit quickly?

That said, how do I get my skinny bas-

tards to start training their newound

muscle to contract explosively, yet in a

sae and eective manner? The answer

is simple: basic jump training!

Incorporating box jumps, vertical jumps,broad jumps and hurdle jumps has

had a proound eect on our athletes

explosiveness and perormance. I also

like the act that jumping helps improve

athleticism. The box jump is a perect

example o what Im talking about here.

In order to perorm a box jump onto a

high box, you must develop superior

fexibility and mobility, as well as the

incredible balance required to stick the

landing. Im a an o any exercise that

helps develop explosive power, mobility

and balance simultaneously!

Another positive aspect o jumping

is that it doesnt make you as sore assquatting. This is important because we

dont want our dynamic-eort lower

body day to take away rom our max-e-

ort lower body day. Youll also notice in

the sample workouts below that I keep

the volume very low on the assistance

exercises during dynamic-eort lower

body day. Once again, this is because we

dont want to be sore or the max-eort

workout. This low volume jumping

workout has complimented our athletes

heavy lower body days extremely well!

Repetition Upper Body

The Repetition Upper Body Day remains

a staple o the Skinny Bastard program.

We still perorm our main exercise in

the same ashion outlined in my original

article, choosing an exercise and per-

orming 3 sets o max reps with minimal

rest. Although I use the term max reps,

I advise that you dont go to ailure onthe rst two sets. Instead, I recommend

leaving 1 or 2 reps in the tank during

the rst two sets and then going all

out or the third (nal) set. Also, in my

original article I recommended a one

minute rest period between sets. Experi

ence has shown that one minute o rest

is insucient or most athletes. I now

recommend 90 seconds rest between

repetition sets or most emales and

beginners, and three minutes rest or

stronger athletes. (Three minutes is the

max rest period I suggest or the mainlit on Rep Upper Body Day.)

Another change weve made is that we

dont always perorm 3 sets o max reps

on our main lit during Rep Upper Body

Day. Sometimes, we just use a basic

bodybuilding set/rep scheme. For

example, instead o perorming 3 sets o

max reps in the incline dumbbell bench

press, we may simply perorm 4 sets o

12 reps with 2-3 minutes rest between

sets. Weve ound that perorming high

Max-Efort Upper Body

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NOTES...

reps to (almost) ailure week ater week

has a tendency to burn athletes out. This

holds true even or beginners.

Lately, Ive been throwing in a 2 or 3

week cycle o a bodybuilding set/rep

scheme on Rep Day every 4-6 weeks. For

example, I may have an athlete perorm

barbell push-ups or 3 sets o max reps

or 2 weeks. Ater that, I may prescribe

a 2-week cycle o fat dumbbell bench

presses or 3 sets o max reps. Ater 4

weeks o going to ailure in this man-

ner, I may then prescribe a 2-week cycle

in which the athlete perorms inclinedumbbell bench presses with a mod-

erate weight or 4 sets o 12. Rotating

back and orth between these two rep

methods is a great way to both build

muscle and prevent the athlete rom

burning out.

Max-Efort Lower Body

We have not made any major modica-tions to our Max-Eort Lower Body Day.

Our athletes have developed incredible

lower body strength and power on this

program. Im a big believer in this axiom:

I it aint broke, dont x it! That said, we

aint xin a thing on max-eort lower

body day!

Lets move on

Rep. Upper Body cont..

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Section 1

MondayMax-Efort Upper Body

A. Max-Eort Exercise work up to a max set o3-5 reps in one o the ollowing exercises:

Thick bar or regular barbel l bench press

Barbell loor press

Rack lockouts / Suspended chain lockouts

Incline barbell bench press (regular grip or close grip)

Close-grip bench press (index inger on smooth part o

bar)

Weighted chin-ups

Board presses or oam presses

Chain bench press (*recommended or not-so-skinny

bastards)

Band bench press (*recommended or not-so-skinny

bastards)

Reverse band bench pres s (*recommended or not-so-

skinny bastards)

B. Supplemental Exercise perorm 2 sets o maxreps in one o the ollowing exercises. (Choose a weightyou can p erorm or 15-20 reps on the 1st set. Use the sameweight or both sets and rest 3-4 minutes between sets).

Flat DB bench press (palms in or out)

Incline DB bench press (palms in or out)

DB loor press (palms in)

Barbell push-ups (wearing weighted vest)

Blast strap push-ups (wearing weighted vest)

Criss-cross chain push-ups

Triceps death

Chin-ups (dont perorm these i you chose to do

weighted chin-ups or your irst exercise)

C. Horizontal pulling / Rear delt superset - Supersetone exercise rom Group 1 with one exercise rom Group2.

Now that youve learned some o the theory behind my new training template, its time to see it in its entirety. This irst schedule

is my basic template. It will work or most athletes during their o-season when strength training takes precedence over other

orms o conditioning and technical training. Youll notice, ater reading this template, that Ive provided you with a variety o other

templates that can be utilized during dierent times o the year.

Perorm 3-4 supersets o 8-12 reps o each exercise.

Group 1

DB rows

Barbell rows

Seated cable rows (various bars)

T-bar rows

Chest supported rows

Group 2

Rear delt lyes

Scarecrows

Face pulls

Seated DB power cleans

Band pull-aparts

D. Traps Perorm 3 4 sets o 8-15 reps o one o theollowing exercises:

DB shrugs

Barbell shrugs

Saety squat bar shrugs

Behind the back barbell shrugs

E. Elbow lexor exercise -Perorm 3-4 sets o 8-15reps o one o the ollowing exercises:

Barbell curls (regular or thick bar)

DB curls (standing)

Seated Incline DB curls

Hammer curls

Zottmann curls

Iso-hold DB curls

New & Improved Skinny Bastard Template
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TuesdayDynamic-Eort Lower Body

A. Jump training choose one o the ollowing exer-cises and perorm 5-8 sets o 1-3 jumps:

Box jump s

Vertical jumps

Broad jumps

Hurdle hops (jump over hurdle and land on ground)

Box squat into box jum p

Depth jumps (onto box)

Weighted Reactive box jump s

B. Unilateral exercise (w/ added ROM) choose oneo the ollowing exercises and perorm 2-3 sets o 8-10reps:

Bulgarian split squats, ront leg e levate d (holding DBs

or with a barbell)

Barbell reverse lunge, ront oot elevated

Barbell reverse lunge w/ knee lit (ront oot elevated)

Step-ups (box height slightly above kne e)

C. Hip extension exercise choose one o the ollow-ing exercises and perorm 3 sets o 8-12 reps:

45-degree hyperextensions

Reverse hyperextensions

Pull-throughs

Swiss ball back bridge + leg curl

Glute-ham raises

Romanian deadlit

Forward sled dragging, upright posture (3 sets o 30

yards)

D. Weighted Abdominals choose one o the ollow-ing exercises and perorm 4 sets o 10-15 reps:

DB side bends

Oset barbell side bends

Barbell Russian twists

Low cable or band pull-ins

Hanging leg raises

Weighted Swiss ball crunches

Spread-eagle sit-ups (holding DB over chest)

Standing sit-ups (using a band or a high pulley)

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Section 1

ThursdayRepetition Upper Body

A. Repetition Exercise choose one o the ollowingexercises and perorm 3 sets o max reps OR 4 sets o 12-15 reps:

Flat DB bench press (palms in or out)

Incline DB bench press (palms in or out)

DB bench press on Swiss ball (palms in or out)

DB loor press (palms in)

Push-up variations

Chin-up variations

Barbell bench press (55-6 0% o 1RM)

B. Vertical pulling / Rear delt superset - Superset oneexercise rom Group 1 with one exercise rom Group2. Perorm 3-4 supersets o 8-12 reps o each exercise.

Group 1

Lat pulldowns (various bars)

Chin-ups (dont perorm these i you chose to do chin-

ups or your irst exercise)

Straight arm pulldowns

Group 2

Rear delt lyes

Scarecrows

Face pulls


Band pull-aparts

C. Medial delts choose one o the ollowing exercisesand perorm 4 sets o 8-12 reps:

DB lateral raises

L-lateral raises

Cable lateral raises

DB military press

DB side press

D. Traps / Arms superset - Superset one exercise romGroup 1 with one exercise rom Group 2. Perorm 3supersets.

Group 1(Perorm 8-10 reps)

DB shrugs

Barbell shrugs

Saety squat bar shrugs

Behind the back barbell shrugs

Group 2

Barbell curls (8-10 reps each set)

DB curls (8-10 reps each set)

Seated Incline DB curls (8-10 reps each set)

Hammer curls (8-10 reps each set)

Zottmann curls (8-10 reps each set)

Iso-hold DB curls (8-10 reps each set)

DB triceps ex tensions (10-15 reps each set)

Triceps pushdowns (15-25 reps each set)

E. Grip / Forearms choose one o the ollowing exer-cises:

Wrist roller (2-3 sets o 2-3 reps)

Thick bar or heav y DB holds (2-3 sets o max time)

Plate pinch gripping (2-3 sets o 2-3 reps)

Captains o Crush gripper (3 sets o max reps each

hand)

Rice digs (3 timed sets)

*DONT train your grip/orearms i youre planning ondeadliting the next day.


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FridayMax-Eort Lower Body

A. MAX-EFFORT LIFT work up to a max set o 3-5 repsin one o the ollowing exercises:

Box squats (regular bar, saety squat bar, cambered bar,

bualo bar)

Free squat s (regular bar, saety squat bar, cambered

bar, bualo bar)

Straight bar deadlits (traditional style, sumo st yle)

Trap Bar deadl its

Rack pulls (partial deadlits)

Tire li p (remember, your max-eort lits dont neces-

sarily have to be limited to just barbell exercises!)

*Bands and/or chains can be incorporated into all o theabove exercises or the not-so-skinny bastards readingthis article.

B. UNILATERAL MOVEMENT choose one o the ol-lowing exercises and perorm 3 sets o 6-12 reps:

Bulgarian split squat variation (holding DBs or with a

barbell)

Reverse lunge variation

Step-up variation

Walking lunges

Backward sled drags (3 sets o 30 yards)

Forward sled drags, 45-degree angle (3 sets o 30

yards)

C. HAMSTRING / POSTERIOR CHAIN MOVEMENT

choose one o the ollowing exercises and perorm 3 setso 8-12 reps:

45-degree hyperextensions


Pull-throughs

Swiss ball back bridge + leg curl

Glute-ham raises

Romanian deadlits

Forward sled dragging (upright posture)

D. Ground-based, high-rep abdominal circuit Ex-ample: sprinter sit-ups, V-ups, toe touches, hip thrusts

Perorm 10-20 reps o each exercise and go through thecircuit 2-3 times. Rest 1-2 minutes between circuits.

NOTES REgARDINg WARM-UP SETS

Youll notice that I dont list the number o warm-up setsor your main lit on Max-Eort days or Repetition Up-per Body days. Instead, I use the term work up. This isbecause the number o warm-up sets youll be perormingis determined by how strong you are! The stronger youare, the more sets youll need to reach your max weight. Iavor multiple sets o low reps or warming up on Max-Eort Day and just 1 or 2 sets o 6-8 reps beore your irst

exercise on Rep Upper Body Day.

Beore you warm up with weights, however, you shouldbe per orming a 5-15 minute general warm-up. Make sureyou have a light sweat going beore getting under the bar

Heres an example o working up to a max set o 3 repsin the box squat. Assuming the athletes goal is to boxsquat 315 lbs. or 3 reps, a sample warm-up would looksomething like this:

95 X 5

135 X 5

185 X 3

225 X 3

275 X 3

295 X 3

315 X 3

It should be noted that these warm-up weights are notengraved in stone! Some people like to take bigger jumpsand some preer smaller. YOUmust igure out what worksbest or YOU!The one thing I willsuggest is that i you are

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a weak, skinny bastard, you must makesure youre perorming at least 5 totalsets or your max-eort exercise.

For example, lets say youre going ora 5RM in the box squat and your goalis 185 lbs. Dont just do 95 X 5, 135 X 5and 185 X 5. Skinny bastards need morevolume in order to grow, so make sureyou make smaller jumps in weight andget more sets in beore your main set.

On Rep Upper Body Day - where youre

perormi ng 3 sets o ma x reps - youwont need to perorm as many warm-up sets beore your irst actual work setbecause youre not handling a maximalweight. For example, lets say a workoutcalls or you to perorm 3 sets o maxreps o DB benches on the Swiss ball. Iyoure using 65 lb. DBs, and your goalis 25 reps on the irst set, I suggest youonly perorm 1 or 2 sets o 6-8 reps be-ore your irst work set. Here, you mightdo 45 lb. DBs or 8 reps and then 55 lb.DBs or 6 reps. Another option wouldbe to perorm just 1 set o 8 reps with

50 lb. DBs beore your irst work set.Again, you must decide, through trialand error, what works best or you!

Now that the basic template is in placeand were clear on how to perorm ourwarm-up sets, lets check out someother training templates

NEW WAY TO ORgANIzE YOURSPEED TRAININg/CONDITIONINg

The most popular question I get regard-ing my WS4SB template is how to incor-porate speed training and conditioninginto the routine. Everyone is perpetuallysearching or the best way to incorporaterunning into their liting program. It sthe Holy Grail o training, and it seems tobe what everyone is constantly ater. Imhere to tell you, however, that there is no

single best way to do this. Each athletestemplate has to be based on his or herspecic schedule and preparedness.

Nonetheless, I will provide you with oneo the more popular and, more impor-tantly, practical templates that Ive usedwith my athletes. The use o this tem-plate has achieved incredible resultsor us. Remember, this is only oneo MANY eective ways to organizeyour strength and speed/condition-

ing workouts.

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MondayMax-Efort Upper Body

This workout remains the same as descr ibed on our basic

template with one exception youre not going to work

up to a true max on your max-eort exercise. Once I start

incorporating more running into my athletes workouts,

I like to drop the percentages down on their max-eort

lits. This prevents the athlete rom burning out while si-

multaneously maintaining strength levels - as we ramp up

the conditioning aspect o the program. I suggest working

up to 2 sets o 3 reps with 80-82% o your 1RM or your

max-eort lit. I youre a more advanced athlete, you canwork up to 2-3 singles with 90-92% o your 1RM or your

max-eort lit. I youre eeling reallygood on a given day,

you can work up to a true max set. The rest o this workout

can remain the same as outlined in the basic template.

TuesdaySpeed Training

A. General Warm-up / Movement skills (5-15 minutes)

The goal o this portion o the workout is to increase your

core temperature by perorming basic movement skills and

calisthenics. (Example: bodyweight squats, jumping jacks,skipping, back pedaling, etc...)

B. Ground-based mobility (5-15 minutes) Once

youve broken a sweat and your muscles are warm, I suggest

perorming ground-based mobility drills or 5-15 minutes.

(Sample mobility drills include: roll-overs into V-sits, re

hydrant circles, mountain climbers, groiners, etc)

C. Frequency drills (2-3 minutes) I always like to

conclude my warm-up with 1 or 2 drills that excite the

central nervous system beore beginning the speed train-

ing portion o the workout. These drills should only last 5-10

seconds, and I recommend 2-3 sets or each. (Example: low

pogo jumps, wideouts, ankling, etc.)

D. Speed training We always separate speed train-

ing rom conditioning. When I reer to speed training or

non-track athletes, Im talking about distances o 60 yards o

less, with complete (or close to it) recovery between sprintsThe goal o this workout is to actually get aster. Thats why

its done early in the week when your legs are at their reshest.For example, i a ootball player wants to incorporate some

Combine tests into his weekly template, today would be the

ideal day to do so. A sample workout would look like this:

1. 10-yard starts 8 sprints with 1 minute rest

between sprints

2. 20-yard shuttle 5-6 reps with 1-2 minutes rest

between sprints

3. 3-Cone drill 4 reps with 2-3 minutes rest be-

tween sprints

*A ootball player who isnt concerned about incorporating

Combine tests into his workout could do a sample linear speed

workout as ollows:

1. 10-yard sprints 10 sprints with 1 minute rest

2. 20-yard sprints 6 sprints with 2 minutes rest

3. 40-yard sprints 4 sprints with 4 minutes rest

*I obviously cant write a hundred diferent sample workouts oevery sport and position. Im hoping youll understand the goalo this Tuesday workout and can design, or yoursel, a planthat best suits your needs. Simply put, this workout should con-sist o short, explosive sprints or agility drills with ull recovery.

WednesdayO

STRENGTH & SPEED TEMPLATE
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Section 1

ThursdayMax-Eort Lower Body & Conditioning

A. Max-eort exercise You will not work up to atrue max on this exercise. I suggest working up to 2sets o 3 reps with 75-80% o your 1RM. Another op-tion is to work up to 2-3 singles with 90% o your 1RMi youre an advanced athlete.

B. Hip extension exercise - choose one o the ollow-ing exercises and perorm 3 sets o 10 reps:

45-degree back raises


Pull-throughs

C. Sprinter sit-ups 3 sets o 20 reps

D. Conditioning inisher choose one o the ol-lowing exercises

* Prowler sprints perorm 4-10 30-yard sprints with about 1 minute restbetween sprints (depending on yourconditioning level).

Farmers walks perorm 46 sets o 40-60 yards with 1-2 minutes rest betweensets

Forward or backward sled drags per-orm 4-6 sets o 30-50 yards with 1-2

minutes rest between sets

*I dont endorse many pieces o equipment, but i youre a serious athlete looking to ge t in

shape, you have to get a prowler. Ive used it with all types o athletes - rom proessio nal

boxers to NFL ootball players and rugby players. No matter what sport you play, this

thing will get you in the best shape o your lie. You can purchase one HERE.

FridayRepetition Upper Body

*Done the same way as described earlier in the new 4-day

program. The only dierence is that youre going to n-

ish the workout with weighted abdominals instead o grip

training.

SaturdayConditioning

A. Warm-up Same ormat as Tuesdays workout(General warm-up, ground-based mobility, requency drills)

Ater the warm-up, choose one o the ollowing 3 options

OPTION 1 Conditioning test

I youre a ootball player or any other athlete - and you

have a conditioning test youll have to perorm when youget to training camp, you can train or it on this day. (NOTE:Although I eel that most ootball conditioning tests suck,your coach, unortunately, is going to evaluate you on howwell you perorm them. Youll thereore need to practicewhichever one he uses beore showing up to camp. Forexample, I have no idea how running 16 110-yard sprintscarries over to ootball, but i thats your conditioning test,you should drill it on Saturday i you decide to use thistemplate).

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OPTION 2 Skill conditioning

This involves perorming a specic aspect o your sport withincomplete rest intervals. For example, i youre a ootballwide receiver, you can get a quarterback to throw to you asyou practice running pass routes with minimal rest betweenrepetitions. Another example would be or a basketballplayer to play a pick-up game o basketball. A soccer playercan go to a soccer eld and work on his or her ball handlingskills up and down the eld. Hopeully, you get my point.

The possibilities are endless or any sport.

a basketball player to play a pick-up game o basketball.A soccer player can go to a soccer ield and work on his orher ball handling skills up and down the ield. Hopeully,you get my point. The possibilities are endless or anysport.

OPTION 3 General conditioning

This option entails sprinting or various distances , per-orming cone drills or other such conditioning drills- with incomplete rest periods. For example, a ootballplayer could perorm sprints/drills that take 5-15 secondsto complete, resting or only 30- 60 seconds betweendrills. Here is a sample general conditioning workout weperormed with our ootball players this summer:

1. Mountain climbers into 10-yard sprint 8

sets with 30 seconds rest between sets. Ater youcomplete the 8 sprints, rest 1 minute beore movingonto the 2nd exercise.

2. Wideouts into 15-yard sprint perorm wide-outs or 5 seconds and then sprint 15 yards on com-mand. Perorm 6 sets with 45 seconds rest betweensets. Ater you complete the 6 sets, rest 2 minutesbeore moving onto the third exercise.

3. 60-yard shuttle perorm 4 shuttles with 45seconds rest between sets. Ater you complete the4 sets, rest 1 minute beore moving onto the inalexercise.

4. Illinois Drill perorm 3 sets with 1 minute restbetween sets.

SundayO

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Section 1

Most athletes will work diligently to improve theirstrength during the o-season, only to lose all theirhard-earned gains when they need them most: during theseason!Think about what Im saying here. What good isit or a ootball player to be as strong as hell in April, yetweak as a schoolgirl in November?

I believe most athletes lose their o-season gains duringthe season because theyve not been properly educatedon the correct way to perorm their in-season training.Many athletes try to perorm their o-season workoutsduring the season. Those who do this quickly realize thattheir o-season program is too demanding to maintain.As a result, they eventually become rustrated and stoptraining altogether! This, obviously, is the worst thing anathlete can possibly do!

Athletes need to understand that they can maintain theirstrength during the season on very little volume - IF theyredoing the right exercises at the proper intensity. Speak-ing o proper intensity, its important to get a true max onyour indicator lits beore the season starts. This will en-able you to make proper weight selections or your mainlits during the season. For example, two weeks beore allo our high school ootball players started training camp,we tested their box squat and bench press. Our trainingweights and percentages or our in-season programs arebased on those max lits.

Another point I need to make about in-season training

is that its extremely unpredictable! Athletes constantlycontact me in search o the magic in-season program and,as usual, such a program simply doesnt exist. Theres noway to predict how an athlete will make it through anentire season. There are just too many variables involved injuries, school schedule, practice time, easy games, hardgames, etc

The key is to listen to your body! I youve just had an easygame a blowout, lets say - in which you were taken outat haltime, you can hit the weights a little harder duringthe week. I youre coming o a tough game in which yousuered an injury and you have another tough game theollowing week, your best bet is to go easy in the weight

room that week and just perorm some restoration exer-cises. Taking all this into account, Ill now give you someguidance by providing you with one (o many) sample in-season programs that Ive used with my ootball clients.

WORKOUT #1*This workout was perormed on Monday. (Their gamewas on Saturday.)

A. Max-Eort Upper Body lit work up to 5RMweek 1 & work up to 3RM week 2. *Be somewhat con-servative with your weight selections. I dont advocateorced reps during the season. The goal is to work up to aheavy weight, but you want to get all reps on your own.

*I also like perorming 2-week mini-cycles during theseason in which you alternate between ull-range max-eort lits and partial range lits or the upper body.For example: Weeks 1&2 = bench press; Weeks 3&4 =3-board press; Weeks 5&6 = incline bench press; Weeks7&8 = loor press; Weeks 9&10 = close grip bench press;Weeks 11&12 = 4-board press

B. Blackburns Perorm 2 sets o the 4 exercisesthat are shown in the video link. Hold each position or10-20 seconds. Rest 1 minute between sets.

C. Unilateral lower body movement perorm 3sets o 8 reps

D1. Rowing variation 3 sets o 10-12 reps

D2. DB Shrugs 3 sets o 10-12 reps

E. High rep abdominal circuit perorm 3-4 exer-cises and go through circuit 2X

IN-SEASON TRAINING
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WORKOUT #2*This workout was perormed on Wednesday, but it canalso be perormed on Thursday

A. Box Jumps perorm 3 sets o 3

B. Box squats perorm 3-week mini-cycles withthe ollowing percentages: Week 1 = 60% o 1RM or6 sets o 2 w/ 1 minute rest between sets; Week 2 =70% o 1RM or 5 sets o 2 w/ 1 minute rest betweensets; Week 3 = work up to 3 singles w/ 80-85% o your1RM. Rest 2-3 minutes between sets. Ater 3 weeks,start the cycle over. You may increase or decrease thepercentages depending on how you eel. Alternatebetween a regular barbell & saety squat bar every 3weeks i you can.

C1. DB bench variation perorm 3 sets o8-12reps

C2. Rear Delt/Upper Back exercise choose one othe ollowing exercises & per orm 3 sets o 8-12 reps

Rear delt lyes

Scarecrows

Face pulls


Band pull-aparts

D. DB or cable lateral raises perorm 2-3 sets o

12-15 reps

E. Abs/Low back superset perorm 2-3 super-sets o your avorite ab exercise with either 45-degreeback raises or reverse hyperextensions. Perorm 10-20reps o each exercise.

Although Ive now oicially published a sample in-seasontemplate, I know Im bound to receive a thousand emailsasking me, What should I do i I can only train once a weekduring the in-season?

Im well aware that sports such as basketball, baseballand soccer among others - have multiple games perweek. This certainly makes in-season training a little morecomplicated. One way to combat this is to simply alternatebetween the two in-season templates provided above.For example, perorm Workout #1 on one o your o daysduring the irst week o your season. During an o day on

week 2, perorm Workout #2. Go back to Workout #1 againduring week 3, and so on. I a light week comes up in whichyou only have one or two games, you can perorm bothworkouts that week. As Ive stated beore, you must use youbest judgment.

*I you know in advance that youre deinitely not going tobe able to train more than once a week during the season, suggest designing one ull-body workout that incorporatesa squat variation, bench press variation and a row varia-tion. This workout should also cover any weak points thatyou need to address during the season.

IN-SEASON TRAINING
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Section 1

As a result o overwhelming popular demand, Ive de-cided to devote a small section o this ar ticle to all youwashed-up meatheads out there. Washed-up meatheads

are essentially non-athletes who dont want to go to thegym and train like everyone else. Washed-up meatheadscome rom all walks o lie theyre police oicers, corpo-rate CEOs, school teachers, coaches and small businessowners. Most o them are ormer high school and/or col-lege athletes whove maintained that same competitivespirit as theyve gotten older. Unlike most health clubmembers, washed-up meatheads go to the gym to train not to socialize and make riends! Hey, just becauseyoure over 40, or 50 or, in my dads case, 60 - it doesntmean you cant still train hard and get results!

Although washed-up meatheads dont want to do the Av-erage Joe workout, they also dont need to do everythinga college or pro athlete does. Keeping this in mind, hereare some thoughts on a very practical and productivewashed-up meatheads template:

As you can see, this template is very similar to the base4-day template I outlined earlier in this article, and yourworkouts can ollow the exact same ormat I laid outthere. The only day Ive omitted is the dynamic-eort low-er body day. I just dont eel that the dynamic-eort lowerbody day is necessary i youre a washed-up meathead

looking to get jacked. On the other hand, i youre in yourmeathead inancy years (late twenties to early thirties)and you want to improve your athleticism while youre

getting jacked, you can ollow the exact 4-day template Ioutlined earlier in the article.

Thoughts on conditioning or

Washed-up Meatheads

Most o the washed-up meatheads that have contactedme arent only concerned about getting jacked. Theyrealso at a point in their lives where they want to be healthyBelieve it or not, there comes a time in some peopleslives at which being healthy enough to play with theirkids takes precedence over max-eort deadlits! For thesepeople, I recommend incorporating 2-3 days a week o

cardio - or some kind o conditioning.

Although I preer sprints, prowler pushes, sled draggingor similar high-intensity activities, I realize that not allmeatheads are healthy enough to perorm these typeso activities anymore. Whether its an old injury thatsholding you back or youve simply let yoursel get out oshape, make sure you dont neglect your conditioning justbecause you cant do the hardcore things you used to dowhen you were an athlete. Make sure you do some ormo conditioning 2-3 times a week. This can entail going ora one-mile jog, riding a stationary bike or just going or a

MONDAY Max-Efort Upper Body

WEDNESDAY Max-Efort Lower Body

FRIDAY Repetition Upper Body

OPTIONAL WORKOUTS

To summarize, my base template or washed-upmeatheads is the 3-day plan outlined above. I yourea meathead thats looking to get jacked and you wantto add a ourth day o liting to my base template,heres what I recommend:

MONDAY Max-Eort Upper Body

WEDNESDAY Max-Eort Lower Body

THURSDAY Repetition Upper Body

SATURDAY Vanity Day ( This workout canconsist o extra biceps, shoulders, calves & abs)

WASHED UP MEATHEAD TEMPLATE

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walk. I youre in good enough condition, I highly recom-mend sprinting, prowler pushes, sled dragging and otherorms o high-intensity movements as your best ormso conditioning. These activities will simultaneously getyou in kick-ass shape AND have a positive eect on yourphysique.

To summarize, I dont care what orm o conditioning youchoose - just do something 2-3 times per week. I you needto perorm low intensity activities like walking or jogging, it

doesnt matter when you do them. You can engage in yourcardio movement(s) as a warm-up beore your workouts.You can also do something ater your workouts. Another op-tion is to get the work in on your non-liting days.

I youre able to perorm the high intensity movements Ivediscussed, I recommend doing them ater your two upperbody workouts. Coupling your high-intensity conditioningwith your upper body days will enable you to have moredays o and more time to recover. I perorming your high-intensity conditioning on the same days as your upper bodyworkouts isnt practical, you can try conditioning on your odays. See how you eel ater the rst week and then makethe necessary adjustments. Whether youre a washed-up

meathead or an elite athlete, you must listen to your body!

INDICATOR EXERCISES

Now that Ive provided you with all my templates, Idlike to wrap things up by discussing the importance ohaving indicator exercises in your program.

I irmly believe that every strength program mustinclude indicator exercises. Your indicator exercises

are, essentially, your money exercises. Theyre the ex-ercises thatll tell you whether your program is work-ing or not. There are no rules to what your indicatorexercises should be. I recommend simply choosing 3-5exercises that you eel are the most important move-ments in your strength program in terms o determin-ing your progress. You must then igure out whichexercises help strengthen your indicator exercises, aswell as which exercises dont carry over to your indica-tor exercises. Keep the exercises in your program thatstrengthen your indicator exercises. Eliminate theones that dont carry over.

Generally speaking, in our strength program, we haveour indicator exercises - two upper body and twolower. Our indicator exercises are:

#1 Box Squat

#2 Vertical jump and/or Box Jump

#3 Bench Press

#4 Chin-ups

For the majority o our athletes, all o the other exercises

we perorm in our program are intended to build our

our indicatorexercises. I we can simultaneously improve

these our exercises, we know were developing many di-

erent aspects o strength. For example, the box squat and

bench press require absolute strength or the lower and

upper body, respectively. The vertical jump (or box jump)

requires an athlete to display his/her strength rapidly -

explosive power - and weve also ound that jump heightdirectly correlates with an athletes sprinting speed. The

chin-up test requires tremendous relative body strength

which weve also ound to correlate with an athletes

sprinting speed. As you can see, i we can improve our

our indicatorexercises, we know our clients are develop-

ing balanced strength and power. This builds a terric

oundation or all athletes.

By contrast, i an athletes bench press and box squat

numbers have improved, but their vertical jump and chin-

up perormance have deteriorated, we know we need to

alter the program and reevaluate the athletes nutritional

habits, etc. I an athlete increases only his/her absolute

strength, without improvement in relative strength or ex-

plosive power, he/she may become slower and less agile.

This is why we place a huge emphasis on improving ALL

FOUR o our indicatorexercises.

To summarize:

I you determine what your indicator exercises are, youll

be better able to design a productive program or your-sel. Every couple o weeks (or months), test yoursel in

your indicatorexercises. I they improve, no one can tell

you that your program sucks! I your indicator exercises

do not improve, youll then know that you have to make

changes to your exercise selection, training volume, diet,

or any other training variables that may be hindering your

progress. By having indicatorexercises, youll constantly

be able to monitor your progress and make adjustments

along the way. This will improve your results dramatically,

as well as your training knowledge and your ability to

design a program that best suits yourneeds!

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FORMER SKINNY BASTARDSBefore I conclude this article, I want to show you the results this program produceswith our athletes on a daily basis. After all, it wouldnt be a skinny bastard article

without a couple of motivational, real-world beforeand after pictures. Here are justa few of our most recent athlete transformations:

Before after

Mk Gudg

Baseball

178 lbs. 202 lbs.

Mk Psh

Track/Football

171 lbs. 193 lbs.

Klly Vg

Soccer

109 lbs. 139 lbs.

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FORMER SKINNY BASTARDS

Before after

D Muy

Football

241 lbs. 258 lbs.

rss Kum

Football (kicker)

118 lbs. 143 lbs.

cy Smh

Baseball

205 lbs. 241 lbs.

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CONCLUSION

I would now like to address the 2007class o skinny bastards

I have held your skinny, weak handsand guided you or the past three

years. It is now time to take the toolI have provided you with and igurethings out or yoursel! Once youreable to experiment and draw yourown conclusions, youll make themost rewarding gains o your lie. This when youll become truly strongand capable o athletic excellencebeyond your wildest dreams. Nowmake me proud by spreading yournot-so-skinny lats and lying to a bigger, stronger - and more independe- uture.

Yours in strength,

Joe DeFranco

Good luck, my skinny bastards.

SPECIAL THANKS to The Doorman ortaking the time to edit this article.
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