Spud Webb
Up until now we trained like powerlifters, Olympic lifters, and bodybuilders and we saw mediocre results. We trained for hours a week to get only slightly better on the field, and that was good enough because there wasn’t a way of training to make us more athletic. We didn’t know that we could actually turn ourselves into a Reggie Bush or a Randy Moss by the way we lifted and we couldn’t until now. The old athlete trains using those generic techniques and settles for the average, but the New Athlete trains for power and will only take the best. The method below has been proven to make us faster, stronger, and much more athletic by focusing completely on our fast-twitch muscle fibers and our anaerobic energy system, which is the system we use in any explosive sport. Without any more delay, here it is:
Step 1) Select one exercise to work on proprioception and ballistic absorption. These exercises teach our muscles how to absorb shock and increase our balance. A balanced muscle is an efficient muscle, which means all of our strength can be quickly converted into power and speed.
Overhead Wall Throws – Using a medium weight medicine ball (6lbs to 8lbs), position yourself in front of a stable wall and perfrom an overhead throw. Keeping your hands only about 6 inches away from the wall, just let the ball bounce into your hands and throw it again. The motion should feel effortless as you just use the momentum of the ball to throw it back into the wall. Even though it may not seem like you’re doing much, this strengthens your shoulder girdle and greatly reduces injuries.
Leg Bounces – Standing with your feet shoulder width apart bounce up and down on your toes, being careful not to let your heels touch the ground. That’s it. It’s simple enough, yet it warms up your muscles, strengthens your Achilles’ tendon and drastically reduces injuries.
Step 2) Select an Initial Burst Exercise
These exercises train us to rapidly accelerate from a stop. Perform 8 sets of 2 reps at 45% of your 1RM. Take 45 seconds between sets and decrease your rest time by 2 seconds every two weeks, getting all the way down to 20 seconds. Select any 2 of these exercises and perform them by lowering at a normal pace, pausing at the bottom for a count of 2 and then explode up as quickly as possible.
Choose 2: Bench Press, Military Press, Box Squats, Stiff-Legged Deadlifts, Bent-over Rows, or High Pulls.
This method, like this entire program, strictly trains our fast twitch muscles, and dramatically improves our power and athleticism.
Step 3) Select a High Speed Exercise
These exercises train our muscles to accelerate rapidly after that initial burst. That means in a jump, we are increasing our speed and power all the way up until our feet leave the ground. What does that mean to us? We jump a lot higher , increase our top speed, and reduce the amount of time it taks to get to our top speed.
First, we break every lift into three parts. By using the safety pins in a squat rack we can divide every lift into the bottom, the middle and the top. Do 2 sets of 2 reps at each position. Use 100% of your 2RM for every set. In other words, use the most weight you can lift at each position for 2 reps. Take 2 minutes between each set. At the top position do an extra 4 sets.
Choose any one of these lifts: Deadlift, Bench Press, or Military Press.
I.e. Deadlift: For the first position, place do a regular deadlift off of the ground. For the middle position, move the safety pins to a position in the middle of your shins and lift from all the way up to lock out from there. For the top position, move the safety pins to just below your knee so you only have to lift the bar about 4 inches. Follow this same procedure with all the other exercises, using the power rack’s safety pins to break each exercise into three parts.
Step 4) Personalized Plyo’s
Plyometrics are a key to speed and power, and especially athleticism. However, we can get so much more from them if we personalize them. Before you start the program, you need to find your personalized plyo number. Do this by peforming as many perfect repitions as you can of the exercises below. A perfect repition is at max height and max speed, as soon as you slow down stop and record that number. That is your PPN.
The Plyo’s: Squat Jump, Split Squat Jumps, Single Leg Tuck Jumps, Plyo Push-Ups
Make sure you stay on your toes for all of the jumps. The jumps can be found on http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/plyometricexercises.html and the Plyo Push-Ups can be found here http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/plyometric-drills.html
Once you have found your PPN, it’s used to determine your sets and reps for that exercise. Starting off at week one, do 2 sets of your PPN. So, if you maxed out at 10 squat jumps, for week one you will do 2x10 with 120 seconds rest between sets. Every 2 weeks you want to increase your reps by a total of 1 and increase your sets by 1. You also want to decrease your total rest by 8 seconds. So, using this example, at week 3 you will do 3x7 (a total of 21 jumps) with 2 rest periods of 56 seconds (112 seconds total). At week 5, you will complete 3x7, 1x8, (a total of 22 jumps) and take 3 rest periods of 35 seconds (107 seconds total). After week 8, remeasure your PPN and start over. Training this way increases your power, but it also increases your anaerobic endurance. That is the energy system that every athlete uses, except for long distance runners.
Step 5) Here we perform classic strength work so that we never hit a plateau. Do 1 of your favorite calf lifts on leg days, do 2 of your favorite presses on day 2, and do 2 of your favorite pull exercises on day 4. Perform each of these for 3 sets of 6 with 60 seconds rest between sets.
The steps are laid out in the order you should follow your workout. So Step 1 is your warm-up, Step 2 is next, and so on. After following these guidelines for only a week, you’re going to be amazed at how much faster and more explosive you’ve become.
Before you begin, test yourself to see where you’re at now and retest everything after week 8.
Example Program
Day 1, 3, 5
Leg Bounces 4x30 seconds with 30 seconds rest
Box Squat 8x2 @ 45% with 45 seconds rest
Stiff-Legged Deadlift 8x2 @ 45% with 45 seconds rest
Bottom Portion Deadlift 2x2 @ 100% with 2 min. rest
Middle Portion Deadlift 2x2 @ 100% with 2 min. rest
Top Portion Deadlift 6x2 @ 100% with 2 min. rest
Squat Jump 2xPPN with 120s rest
Split Jump 2xPPN with 120s rest
Single Leg Tuck Jump 2xPPN with 120s rest
Calf Raises 3x6 with 60 seconds rest
Day 2
Overhead Wall Throws 4x30 seconds with 30 seconds rest
Bench Press 8x2 @ 45% with 45 seconds rest
Military Press 8x2 @ 45% with 45 seconds rest
Bottom Portion Bench Press 2x2 @ 100% with 2 min. rest
Middle Portion Bench Press 2x2 @ 100% with 2 min. rest
Top Portion Bench Press 6x2 @ 100% with 2 min. rest
Plyo Push-Ups 2xPPN with 120 seconds rest
Dumbbell Bench Press 3x6 with 60 seconds rest
Dumbbell Incline Press 3x6 with 60 seconds rest
Sprint Circuit
Day 4
Overhead Wall Throws 4x30 seconds with 30 seconds rest
Military Press 8x2 @ 45% with 45 seconds rest
Bent-over Rows 8x2 @ 45% with 45 seconds rest
Bottom Portion Military Press 2x2 @ 100% with 2 min. rest
Middle Portion Military Press 2x2 @ 100% with 2 min. rest
Top Portion Military Press 6x2 @ 100% with 2 min. rest
Plyo Push-Ups 2xPPN with 120 seconds rest
45° Rows 3x6 with 60 seconds rest
Bent-over Rows 3x6 with 60 seconds rest
Sprint Circuit
This is just an example program, you can create many different programs by following the rules above. Although I’ve found the ones above to be the best, you can even use different exercises and plyos. Post to tell me what you’ve come up with, variety is always good and you may have come across something new.
Good Luck! And always feel free to ask any questions,
Nick Bosch
Human Performance Coach
Disclaimer: This program is not intended to prevent, treat or cure any disease. You should consult a physician before beginning this or any other exercise program.I am not responsible for any injuries or personal damages that may occur during this program.
Sources
Bompa, Tudor O. Periodization Training for Sports. Human Kinetics. Champaign, Il, 2005.
Chandler, Jeff T. and Brown, Lee E. Conditioning for Strength and Human Performance. Wulters Kulwer Health. Philadelphia, 2008.
Forney, Jeff. 30 Days to Explosive Sports Speed. TripleThreatInc.com. 2004.
Lowery, Luke. Double Your Vertical Leap Training Program. TheVerticalProject.com. 2005.
