How to Create a Strength Training Program Jim Kielbaso MS, CSCS

Strength training program design can get very complicated, but it doesnt have to be. The bottom line is that you need to develop a well-rounded, comprehensive program that encourages hard work and progressive overload of the musculature. If those components are in place, you are well on your way to helping your athletes reap the benefits of a strength training program. Comprehensive A strength training program should address every major muscle group in the body: chest, upper back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, neck (for collision sports), abdominals, lower back, hips & glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. Certain sports will focus more on a particular body part or require specialized work on smaller muscle groups (i.e. baseball pitchers will train the rotator cuff extensively), but all major muscle groups should be addressed. In general, an equal amount of work should be done on each side of a joint. Deficiencies can be overcome through strength training, but it generally takes specialized assessment to determine which muscles are deficient. Progressive In order for any program to be effective, there must be a systematic and progressive overload of the musculature. In other words, athletes should systematically attempt to perform more work on a given exercise. For example, an athlete who can perform a maximum of 10 push-ups today should attempt to perform 11 repetitions at some point. When 11 can be performed, 12 should be attempted and so on. Progress can be made through any of the following: increasing the number of repetitions, increasing the amount of weight, increasing the number of sets, increasing the number of training days per week, decreasing the amount of rest time between sets, or a combination of any of these. One of the easiest approaches is called double progression. To use this method, start by determining a range of repetitions you are going to use, for example 6-10 reps. If the athlete is unable to perform at least 6 reps, the weight is too heavy. If more than 10 reps can be performed, the weight is too light. During each workout, one more rep should be attempted until the top of the range (10 reps in this case) can be performed. When the top of the range is achieved, the weight will be increased at the next workout by the smallest amount possible. How many sets? The number of sets used on an exercise or within a complete workout can vary greatly, but the following guidelines can be used. In most cases, 1-3 sets will be performed for each exercise and 10-20 sets will be performed in the entire workout.

If fewer sets are used, each set should be performed with maximum intensity. In other words, the set should be taken to the point of momentary muscular fatigue, or no more reps can be performed. If the athletes are unable to perform with maximal intensity, it is generally a good idea to complete multiple sets of an exercise. How many reps? While there is great debate of the number of repetitions that should be used in a set, it really should not be confusing. In general, it is recommended that 6-20 reps be performed on each set. While this is a large range, it offers a guideline in which to create smaller rep ranges from. It is best to choose ranges of 4-6 reps, such as 6-10, 812, 10-15, or 15-20. As long as your program continually challenges the athlete to perform a greater amount of work, strength gains will be made. Any rep range will work. There are, however, some subtle differences between the benefits of each rep range. Lower rep ranges (i.e. under 6 reps) will stimulate the nervous system to a greater extent, but actual tissue changes may be limited. Very heavy weight (relative to the athletes strength) must be used which can be potentially dangerous because athlete may have a tendency to use improper technique to lift the weight. In general, it is unnecessary for any high school athlete to use weights that cannot be lifted at least 6 times with good form. Prepubescent athletes should generally use weights that allow for at least 10 reps. Medium rep ranges (i.e. 6-10, 8-12, 10-15) offer the benefits of increasing strength, eliciting positive tissue changes, and allow for greater safety that very heavy weights. These rep ranges are recommended for most sets on most exercises. Higher rep ranges (i.e. 15-20) offer the greatest results when muscular endurance is the goal. Endurance athletes may want to consider higher rep ranges. Young athletes or beginners may also consider higher rep ranges because it offers the offers the opportunity to practice good technique. Strength will still be gained with higher rep ranges. How much weight? Once a rep range is determined (for example 8-12 reps) selecting a weight is fairly easy. Have the athlete perform a set of as many reps as possible. If the athlete cannot perform at least 8 reps, the weight is too heavy and should be decreased at the next workout. If the athlete can perform more than 12 reps, the weight is too light and should be increased at the next workout. Within 2-4 workouts, the optimal weight will be selected. This selection process gives the athletes the opportunity to practice technique and experiment with different resistances.

How often should you train? Selecting the number of training sessions per week is dependent upon many outside factors such as practice time, game schedule, outside activities, facility availability, etc. Generally, there will be more time available for strength training during the off-season than during a competitive season. The following are some guidelines for the number of training days per week during different phases of the competitive cycle, with routine ideas in parenthesis: Off-season: 2-4 days/week (2 or 3 total-body workouts per week T & Th, 2 upper & 2 lower body workouts/week M-T-Th-F or 3 days/week alternating upper & lower body routines M-W-F) Pre-season: 2-3 days/week (2 or 3 total-body workouts per week, or 3 days/week alternating upper & lower body routines M-W-F) In-season: 1-3 days/week (1- 3 total-body workouts per week, or 2-3 days/week alternating upper & lower body routines) How long should the workout take? Each strength training session should last 20-60 minutes. There is no reason for any high school strength workout to last more than 60 minutes. Rest between sets should last about 1-2 minutes. This allows time for a partner to complete his/her set and the next exercise to be set up. Work large muscles first In general, the order of exercises should begin with the largest muscle groups and move to smaller muscle groups. Large muscle groups include the chest, upper back, and hips & quads. Smaller muscle groups include the shoulders, arms, hamstrings, calves and abdominals. An example of a total body routine would be: 1. Hips & Quads 2. Chest 3. Upper back 4. Shoulders 5. Hamstrings 6. Arms 7. Calves 8. Abdominals 9. Neck

Variation A workout routine should be changed every 6-12 weeks to offer new stressors to the body. A change can be very small such as changing the rep range, changing the number of sets per exercise, adding a new exercise or two, or changing the order of exercises. Change can also consist of a completely new routine. Small changes are all the body needs to continually make progress so dont feel that it is necessary to create brand new programs. The process of changing the workout routine is called periodization. This can get very complicated, and there are entire books written on the subject. To get started on a strength training program, it is absolutely not necessary to understand the intricacies of periodization. For now, all that is important is to modify the workout every 6-12 weeks. Changing the routine too often does not allow the muscular tissue time to gradually adapt to the stress. If the routine is changed too quickly, it is difficult to determine whether or not the routine is working. Building strength requires a great deal of patience and persistence, so encourage athletes to be diligent. Variety, however, can often keep athletes engaged, so it is encouraged to offer something slightly different every couple of weeks. All this means is that every 2-3 weeks, you change one or two things about the program for that day. You can increase or decrease the number of reps on an exercise, add additional sets of an exercise, add 1-2 exercises, or give an unexpected day off. Anything to make the workout a little different for the day in an effort to keep the athletes engaged. Off-season vs. Pre-season vs. In-season The time of the year is going to create more differences in your program design than just about anything else. While this can get very complicated, once again you are encouraged to keep it simple. The major differences between the programs you will design for each season are as follows: Off-season: The off-season is the best time to make strength gains because fewer physical demands are placed on the body at this time. Overall training volume will generally be increased during the off-season. This means that more days per week may be used, more sets of each exercise and more energy overall will be spent on strength than any other time of the year. In general athletes will train 2-4 days per week and use 14-20 total sets per workout. Aerobic and anaerobic conditioning is generally de-emphasized during the offseason to allow more energy to be spent on gaining strength or the improvement of other deficiencies. Pre-season: Strength training will continue through the pre-season, but the overall volume will gradually decrease as more time and energy are spend on conditioning or fitness. In general, strength training will consist of 2-3 days per

week and 12-15 total sets per workout. The intensity of each set may be increased as the volume of work is decreased. In-season: It is absolutely imperative that strength training be continued through the competitive season. The total volume of work will be reduced, so the relative intensity can be increased. The workouts will be less frequent and shorter in duration. Athletes should strength train at least one day per week, and no more than three days. Workouts will take 20-40 minutes with a total of 10-14 sets per workout. The number of training days per week and volume of each workout will depend upon the competitive schedule and physical demands of the sport. Decide what time of year it is, think about the facilities available, and consider which exercises you feel are most appropriate for you to teach and for your athletes to perform. Quads & Hips: Pick 1-4 Exercises Squat Deadlift Lunges DB/Trap Bar Deadlift Leg Extension Glute/Ham Raise Machine Squat Airball Squat Hip Extension Hip Abduction MR Squat MR Hip Flex/Ext/Ab/Ad/Leg Ext Hamstrings: Pick 1-2 Exercises Leg Curl Airball Leg Curl Glute/Ham Raise Hyperextension Calves: Pick 0-1 Exercise Standing Calf Raise Seated Calf Raise Machine Calf Raise Donkey Calf Raise Chest: Pick 1-3 Exercises Bench Press Incline Bench Press DB Bench Press Incline DB Bench Press Machine Press Dips DB Flys Machine Flys MR Flys Upper Back: Pick 1-3 Exercises Chin Ups Pull Ups DB Row Cable/Machine Row

Leg Press 3-D Lunges Step Ups Hip Flexion Hip Adduction

RDL/Stiff-leg Deadlift

1-Leg Calf Raise MR Leg Curl Decline Bench Press Decline DB Bench Press Push Ups Tubing Press/Flys

Pulldown Close Grip Pulldown

DB Pullover MR Row

Machine Pullover Shrugs

Straight-Arm Pulldown

Shoulders: Pick 1-3 Exercises Lateral Raise Bent Over Raise DB Military Press Machine Military Press MR Lateral Raise/Front Raise/Bent Over Raise Internal Rotation External Rotation Biceps: Pick 0-1 Exercise Barbell Curl DB Curl

Military Press, Seated/Standing Front Raise Tube Raises Empty Can/Thumbs Up Raise

Hammer Curl

Triceps: Pick 0-1 Exercise Dips Close Grip Press Skullcrushers Pushdowns DB Overhead Extensions MR Tri Extension Forearms/Hands: Pick 0-2 Exercises Wrist Curl Wrist Extension Wrist Roller Farmers Walk Towel Chins Gripper Reverse Curl Pronation/Supination Plate Pinch

Abdominals/Low Back: Pick 1-3 Exercises Sit Ups/Decline Crunches Hanging Leg Raise Twists Planks Side Core Hold Back Extension Superman Ab Rockers Neck: Pick 1-3 Exercises Machine Neck Flexion, Extension or Lateral Flexion Manual Resistance Flexion, Extension or Lateral Flexion Shrugs Kelso Shrugs