Thread: Transition to Power Training

have you been doing any plyos at all right now?

were you performing the power clean as part of your program (or did you swap it out for the bent over row)?

How far out from training camp are you? If you are still far out, then you don't want to start doing the real specific work just yet.

The Bill Starr program is good as it covers strength in thre main lifts squat, bench press and power clean (or bent over row). However, it is incomplete (in my opinion) in that it only focuses on developing one quality (strength) where sports performance calls upon several qualities.

If you have a program that only prioritizes strength, then you have an incomplete program.

I haven't been doing plyo's lately and we don't even have a coach yet but some of the seniors are gonna start spring training in about 2 months.
And I swapped power cleans out for B/O Row.

bump

start making a more balanced program and focusing on other capacities.

2 months = 8 weeks of training

1-3 weeks focus on work capacity/general conditioning (with small emphasis on strength and power...start using plyos that focus on deceleration)

week 4- transition to heavier strength work

week 5-6= strength work focus; power training secondary emphasis

week 7-8= sports power and specific conditioning; strength secondary


And that is assuming that you don't have other issues going on with your body. it is impossible to be specific with a program without being there to see you and assess the situation.

Take into consideration everything from:

- injuries
- faulty movement patterns
- position
- what you need to improve on (strength or power or work capacity or increasing muscular size)

all that is above is very general.

also, if you read my blog, you should have some ideas of how to set things up.

being by coming up with a template of things that you have to work on. how many days a week of lifting....what about conditioning? will it be done on lifting days or on non-lifting days? What about when you get to specific conditioning? What do you know about work to rest ratios in your sport. what position do you play and how does that affect things.

what is your template going to be....total body....upper/lower....

you need to establish these things before moving forward.

Alright thanks P I'll check your blog out, much appreciated.

Hey I read your blog "Developing a sports training program" and this is what I came up with on every point...


1.) Assessment-
One Rep Maxes

Weight-175lbs
Height-5'10"
BF%- ~12%
Bench- 220
Squat- 270
Dead-Lift- 285
Row- 240
Endurance Plank- 00:07:01
Room for Improvement- Explosiveness/agility
2.) Sport- Football

3.) Typical Injuries- Knee & neck sprain (those are the 2 injuries I had last year)

4.) Energy Systems for Football- ATP-PC, Anaerobic Glycosis, & Aerobic

5.) Joint Angles- I'm not to sure about this one I couldn't find anything about it, but my positions are Middle Linebacker/Defensive End and Tight-end. So for ML the joint would be knees mainly, and for DE & TE it would be hips and knees. Correct me if I'm wrong.

6.) Where in the Year is the Athlete- Two months before spring training which in past years lasted anywhere from two days to two weeks then we get together in the summer and have little "two-touch" scrimmages which are un-mandatory then we have a week of two-a-days and I'd rather train than dick around in the summer.

Template (Rough Draft)
M,T,Th,F

Week 1-3 Capacity/General Conditioning
Monday

Tuesday

Thursday

Friday

Week 4 Transition to Heavier Strength Work
Monday

Tuesday

Thursday

Friday

Week 5-6 First Priority Strength, Second Power
Monday

Tuesday

Thursday

Friday

Week 7-8 Sport Power & Specific Conditioning first/Strength second priority
Monday

Tuesday

Thursday

Friday


I'm at a loss of what to fill in these days with I should be able to condition on lifting days and on non-lifting days.

I would now set up a daily template:

warm up
conditioning/speed/agility (depening on days and phases)
plyometric work
resistance training
core work
flexibility


Then start to fill in the blanks.

P is offering some solid advice here. The benefit of doing what he suggests over more traditional linear periodization is a lesser deterioration of the biomotor abilities you aren't emphasizing.

Originally Posted by CowPimp

P is offering some solid advice here. The benefit of doing what he suggests over more traditional linear periodization is a lesser deterioration of the biomotor abilities you aren't emphasizing.

yea....i try and steer away from just training one quality (linear periodization), especially in sports where several qualities (like football) are needed in order to be successful.

I wish I could be more specific, but I know nothing about you. One thing I would say about your trainign split is:

in phase 1: think about maybe training 3x's a week and working on your conditioning on inbetween days....as well, work on anything that needs big help (movement problems/strength deficits)....if you read my blog over the next few entries I am going to talk about circuit training and adding it to a program to help increase your benefits; by using it as "extra workouts" during the week and focusing on those important areas that need to get work.

in the transition, maintain that 3x's a week, drop the volume and up the intensity a little.

in phase 2 (the strength phase) up the inensity a little and volume of strength work but still maintain work capcity stuff as well.

In phases 1-2 plyos should be low level and also include plyos that work primarily on deceleratation, in order to prepare you for more intense work to come.

In phase 3: I would go with more concentrated loading (the west-side BB split is actually a good split to use ideas from....but, change some things as you are not trainign for a powerlifting meet).

in phase 4 (power emphasis) I would drop training to very low volume of strength work2-3x's a week and focus mainly on power work and sports specific drills. This is your time to really get your ass ready for pre-season. Strenght work can be low volume and i also like using complexes here, for example 1a) back squat for 1-3 reps; rest 3min; 1b) broad jump for 8 reps; rest 3min. repeat as you work a strength/power continuum. You don't have to do this at all, but I find it to be effective sometimes.

hope that gives you some more food for thought.

yep it sure is giving me food for thought I have my pen and notebook out taking notes, This is great info. I'll be sure to read your blog the next few days.

Hey P, could you give me some examples of deceleration plyos?

Originally Posted by ptwannabe

Hey P, could you give me some examples of deceleration plyos?

Jump squat stick
sinlge leg forward jump and stick
1-2 stick
lateral hop and stick
altitude landings (from a low surface at first)

Box jumps are also a good place to start since they limit landing force.

Daily Template

Monday
Warmup
Plyo (light)
Resistance
Core work
Flexibility

Tuesday
Warmup
Speed/Agi
Plyo work ( I'm not sure if I need to do plyo work everyday or just on resistance days or on inbetween days)
Flexibility

Wednsday
Warmup
Plyo
Resistance
Core work
Flexibility

Thursday
Warmup
Agi/Speed
Plyo
Flexibility

Friday
Warmup
Plyo
Resistance
Core work
Flexibility

Saturday
Warmup
Conditioning
Plyo
Flexibility

Sunday
OFF

What I am thinking about for my warmup on inbetween days is this.

1/4 mile jog
Jumping Jacks
Hammy Kicks-20yrds
High Knees-20yrds
Saigon Squat-30 sec
Carioca-20yrds
Hip Flexors
Hammy Kicks again
High Knees again

your set up is all over the place. you don't need plyos on every day. you have lots of stuff spread out and you need better direction (did you check out my blog today? I had training splits lied out).

Not sure about that warm up. Not a big fan of butt kicks and high knees as they teach movements that don't really happen in a sprint. But, if you combine the too, they work a little better together.

Don't know what a saigon squat is either.

Yea, I didn't think I needed plyos everyday.

And a Saigon Squat is where you squat and use your elbows to spread your legs slowly.

And I'm not too familiar how to train for this but I'm trying hard to get this right.

I'm about to look at your blog in like 5 seconds

Originally Posted by ptwannabe

Yea, I didn't think I needed plyos everyday.

And a Saigon Squat is where you squat and use your elbows to spread your legs slowly.

And I'm not too familiar how to train for this but I'm trying hard to get this right.

I'm about to look at your blog in like 5 seconds

It's okay if you aren't familiar.....that is why you are asking questions! the best part is, once you get familiar and you learn how to set it up, people will be asking you for help!!

Just keep at it man. You interest in learning more is going to take you far.

The split that stuck out to me was

Day1- heavy upper body day/lighter lower body day
Day2- speed and agility work
Day3- Heavy lower body day/lighter upper body work
Day4- tempos or circuits
Day5- Speed and agility
Day6- tempos or circuits

-And about tempo and circuit work. Could you give examples of the two I think I understand tempo work but just to grasp the concept more.

-And on Day 1 and Day 3 what would the number of lifts, sets, reps, and rest ratio be for heavy upper body/lighter lower body & Heavy lower/Lighter upper be?

The split that stuck out to me was

Day1- heavy upper body day/lighter lower body day
Day2- speed and agility work
Day3- Heavy lower body day/lighter upper body work
Day4- tempos or circuits
Day5- Speed and agility
Day6- tempos or circuits

-And about tempo and circuit work. Could you give examples of the two I think I understand tempo work but just to grasp the concept more.

-And on Day 1 and Day 3 what would the number of lifts, sets, reps, and rest ratio be for heavy upper body/lighter lower body & Heavy lower/Lighter upper be?

I read back over circuit training, I missed your example workout in your blog. So basically it is doing constant movements resting then moving right into different constant movements until you have worked everything you planned to

Originally Posted by ptwannabe

The split that stuck out to me was

Day1- heavy upper body day/lighter lower body day
Day2- speed and agility work
Day3- Heavy lower body day/lighter upper body work
Day4- tempos or circuits
Day5- Speed and agility
Day6- tempos or circuits

-And about tempo and circuit work. Could you give examples of the two I think I understand tempo work but just to grasp the concept more.

-And on Day 1 and Day 3 what would the number of lifts, sets, reps, and rest ratio be for heavy upper body/lighter lower body & Heavy lower/Lighter upper be?

That split is okay, but since you are so far from training camp, you would want to lift more and getting in some training volume and increase strength (and size if need be). That split is better for later phases of trainign when sports specific work needs to be focused on at the expense of less time in the weight room.

The tempo work would be, like I said, running the straights at about 70-75% (so not all out; but working on form or technique) and then walking the turns, or performing calisthenics or an abdominal/core circuit. This is different than speed work, where you are performing maximal effort (or near max effort) sprints with a long rest periodi (3-5min) and different than metabolic work where you are developing your anaerobic capacity and your ability to resist fatigue (like shuttle runs or something like that). Hope that makes sense to you.

For the circuit, I gave an example, you just need to find the things that are most important to you and work them into that circuit (if you opt to use this as part of your training program)

Would you recommend the:
Option 1 (upper/lower)
Day1- speed and agility/low volume leg work
Day2- Tempo work/upper body training
Day3- off or active rest or low intensity body weight circuits
Day4- speed and agility/low volume leg work
Day5- Tempo work/upper body training
Day6- off or active rest or low intensity body weight circuits
Day7- OFF
that you had in your blog also

Or what type of split would you recommend?

that would be a good one for your first few blocks of training.

alright, cool. And just fyi I am starting my week off from the bill start program today and I plan to start this 8 wk program next week, but if I don't have all the information I need I'll postpone starting it in order to get it as good as I can, I don't want to waste time.

Originally Posted by ptwannabe

alright, cool. And just fyi I am starting my week off from the bill start program today and I plan to start this 8 wk program next week, but if I don't have all the information I need I'll postpone starting it in order to get it as good as I can, I don't want to waste time.

If it isn't perfect, start something. If you spend you entire life planning the best program, you will spend your entire life planning the best program.

How much time do you have to train? How many days a week can you train? AM and PM workouts? How much time can you devote to training?

Originally Posted by P-funk

If it isn't perfect, start something. If you spend you entire life planning the best program, you will spend your entire life planning the best program.

How much time do you have to train? How many days a week can you train? AM and PM workouts? How much time can you devote to training?

I have alot of time to train, I can train any day of the week, I can to am and pm workouts, and I can devote however much time is needed to training.