Many coaches are doing way too much volume in the weight room and have no idea
Here’s what you need:
- 6-8 exercises
- 20-25 total sets
- about 45 minutes of work
That will get the job done
“Speed is the quality you lose the fastest.”
In only 5-7 days if untrained
Tennessee football performance director Derek Owings discusses how important consistent speed training is
Young athletes: sprint consistently, 2-3 times per-week!
@CHSCoachSimmons Love this!! Not only do your players look forward to training days/practice days what about your coaches?! They also get a summer with their families! Everyone fresh ready to go!
A Dad reached out with a question:
"How do I help my son get faster and stronger without trashing his CNS and making him slower?"
His son's high school coach had the team running an outdated program: high volume, high intensity, not enough recovery. Dad was worried and he was right to ask.
But first, let's kill the biggest myth in youth sport performance.
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗬𝗧𝗛: Lifting makes athletes slow.
It doesn't. Here's what actually does:
A total lack of explosive movement makes athletes slow.
Athletes spend an offseason lifting heavy, eating big, sitting on the couch. Six months later they're heavier, stronger, and slower. Easy to blame the lifting but the real culprit is the absence of any high velocity movement.
𝗪𝗔𝗬 𝗧𝗢 𝗚𝗘𝗧 𝗦𝗟𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥 #𝟭: Stop sprinting entirely.
The SAID Principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands) says it all. The body gets better at what you ask it to do. Never ask it to move fast, and it won't prioritize speed.
𝗪𝗔𝗬 𝗧𝗢 𝗚𝗘𝗧 𝗦𝗟𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥 #𝟮: Do too much, too often.
Excessive volume creates fatigue. Fatigued athletes can't produce maximal outputs. No maximal outputs = no speed development. Training is like medicine. The right dose fixes the problem. Too much creates a new one.
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱
1. Program the right weight room volume.
• 6 to 8 exercises per session
• 20 to 25 total sets
• 2 to 4 sessions per week
2. Gain weight at a sustainable rate.
Target 1 to 2 lb per month. Weight gain is 90% diet and 10% training. The barbell alone won't turn your athlete into a slow, bulky lineman.
3. Sprint consistently.
Max effort, low volume sprint work is the most underutilized tool in athlete development. Field sport athletes also need multidirectional speed, change of direction, and agility. Not just straight line work. Aim for 2 to 3 dedicated speed sessions per week.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸
✅ Lift: 6 to 8 exercises | 20 to 25 sets | 2 to 3x per week
✅ Sprint and move explosively: 2 to 3x per week
✅ Gain weight at a controlled pace: 1 to 2 lb per month
Strong and fast is not a contradiction. It's the goal. The athletes who achieve both aren't lucky. They're just programmed correctly.
This is so true! When we run “miles” we are making them slow!!!! Sprint! Move fast! You can build toughness a lot of ways. It doesn’t have to be how far you can run!
Louie Simmons on Conditioning for Football Players…
“Football is a knock you out, back up, knock you out, back up sport. When you run gassers, you turn explosive athletes into endurance athletes.”
You must train the correct energy systems for success in Sport!🙌🏻
What can you really get done training HS kids in a 42-minute class period? A lot.
Create a system, build/organize/refine your plan & watch kids execute.
Day 1 ✅
Yesterday, the Sprint-Based Football world was 🤯 when a coach proudly posted his 16x 400 workout.
This forum gives us a chance to discuss, argue, and educate.
My take ⤵️
1) Mindless conditioning reinforces bad habits and detrains speed and power.
2) Miserable training does not attract cats to your program.
3) You can’t reverse the burning of a steak… you have ruined training for the next several days.
4) 16x 400 is 10x harder for the bigs… so much so that you may literally KILL a kid. My terrific distance runners have never run a workout like this. We value their health.
5) Let’s say you’ve been training your kids for this crazy workout for the past 8 weeks… that’s 8 weeks of detraining speed.
6) If doing random hard things wins 🏈 games, what would be wrong with triathlons, marathons, mountain climbing, and Navy SEAL training?
7) Men bond when they go through shared suffering… but maybe your “doing hard things” should reflect the athletic qualities that win 🏈 games.
https://t.co/IxMnrKavhp