Summer Lifting Program

This is a generic program that I start off with for everyone (including myself). Generally, most will just stick with this, but I do end up modifying it for some. Most of the time, this program lasts about 10 weeks. The program consists of 4 main exercises: o Bench Press o Deadlifts o Rows o Power Cleans I am personally not a big fan of squats. They are a very effective exercise, but they put a lot of strain on the knees and they take a good chunk of time to learn the correct form, both of which are not great for younger HS kids. Most people that use squats substitute deadlifts (my favorite exercise) with them. Each exercise has a few variations that can be also utilized. The goal is working out anywhere from 3-5 days-a-week. That may be changed according to the age and experience of the athletes or any other scheduling conflicts that arise. o Monday: Sport Specific Work o Tuesday: Lift (All 4 exercises) o Wednesday: Lift (All 4 exercises) o Thursday: Lift (All 4 exercises) o Friday: Sport Specific Work o Saturday: Off/Sport Specific Work o Sunday: Off Because there is up to 5 days of work a week, if overtraining becomes evident, scale back on the work that day. On Sunday, and if you choose to take Saturday off, off means OFF. Absolutely nothing physical other than some static and dynamic stretching. The 3X5 scheme was chosen to minimize overtraining. It also keeps the sets and reps inside the optimal strength gaining range. For sport specific work, any speed/agility/acceleration, position drills, and conditioning may be used. I wont put any of the things I use in this document because what you do on these days is dictated by the positions you will be working with. I am open to questions on the subject however via email at ajfortwengler@gmail.com Dynamic stretches will be used before every workout. PNF stretching will be used 3 times a week after the workout if the kids are old enough (at least 16) on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I usually have linemen and linebackers use a closer grip with the bench, and use the conventional deadlift. I prefer to have skill positions use stiff-leg deadlifts for the extra hamstring work. I use a cycling structure for this program, meaning every week, the load on the first day resets to what the load was on the second day of the prior week. A chart and an example will follow:

To start off with, test each individuals 5 rep max in each of the four exercises you chose to use about a week before starting the program. Start off 35 pounds lower than that max for the first set, 45 pounds lower for the second set, and 55 pounds lower for the third set. Every workout, add five pounds to the previous days load for each set. You continue until you get less than three reps on the first set of a workout. The next workout, you start over the cycle using 10 pounds more than the first cycle. This can generally be repeated for 3-4 cycles before the program needs to be changed up. 3-CYCLE EXAMPLE: A player has tested in the bench press and recorded a 5RM of 135. Workout # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 1st Set Weight & Reps 100 X 5 105 X 5 110 X 5 115 X 5 120 X 5 125 X 5 130 X 5 135 X 5 140 X 4 145 X 2 110 X 5 115 X 5 120 X 5 125 X 5 135 X 5 140 X 5 *New PR 145 X 5 *New PR 150 X 3 155 X 1 120 X 5 125 X 5 130 X 5 135 X 5 140 X 5 145 X 5 150 X 5 *New PR 155 X 5 *New PR 160 X 3 165 X 1 2nd Set Weight & Reps 90 X 5 95 X 5 100 X 5 105 X 5 110 X 5 115 X 5 120 X 5 125 X 5 130 X 5 135 X 5 100 X 5 105 X 5 110 X 5 115 X 5 120 X 5 125 X 5 130 X 5 135 X 5 140 X 5 110 X 5 115 X 5 120 X 5 125 X 5 130 X 5 135 X 5 140 X 5 145 X 5 150 X 5 155 X 4 3rd Set Weight & Reps 80 X 5 85 X 5 90 X 5 95 X 5 100 X 5 105 X 5 110 X 5 115 X 5 125 X 5 130 X 5 90 X 5 95 X 5 100 X 5 105 X 5 110 X 5 115 X 5 120 X 5 125 X 5 130 X 5 100 X 5 105 X 5 110 X 5 115 X 5 120 X 5 125 X 5 130 X 5 135 X 5 140 X 5 145 X 5

The results above are pretty typical of the gains normally scene. The program has worked for myself and for those that I worked with last summer. Now I understand a 20 pound gain in 10 weeks doesnt sound like a whole lot, but a 20 pound increase in ones 5RM is pretty darn good. Personally, my 1RM increased almost 40 pounds although my 5RM increase only about 20. This cycling works well with many other applications as well. Using 1RM and 3 RM works just as well with a few minor tweaks. One other variation can replace the structure of this program. Instead of using Monday and Friday as sports specific days, you can lift. If this is what you want to do, drop the third set from each exercise so you only work with two sets of 5 reps each day. If you are careful about avoiding overtraining this variation will speed up the strength gaining process, but it obviously makes the individual more susceptible to overtraining.

I will be writing more articles about training in the near future, including detailed explanations of exercises and other programs. The above article will be re-written as well, and put into a neater format and edited so it is easy to understand. Coach Teed will have the right to post any of my future articles if he so pleases. Any questions can be directed to ajfortwengler@gmail.com . Comments, corrections, and criticism is also welcome! -Adam Fortwengler