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Thread: Programming changes for HS athletes

  1. #1
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    Default Programming changes for HS athletes

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    I'm coaching 2 teenage girls that are playing softball. Started them on NLP and as their press/bench get grindy I switched to 5 sets of 3 to keep progress moving. Because they play 5-6 games per week and are teenagers that don't sleep or eat enough their upper body lifts are getting grindy again even with triples.

    My question is what kind of adjustments should I make to try and get some more LBS on the bar (if it's even possible)? I don't currently have microplates, not sure if I should start doing a more intermediate 5x5 volume and a heavy day? My other thought was more of a Starr 5x5 with ascending sets, less total tonnage but the intensity will stay up.

    OR start working in more weightlifting movements since they are in season and don't have the recovery resources available to make progress on the Press/Bench?

    I know full well that the easiest way to fix this is that they need to sleep better, eat better and not play so much softball. These are paying clients so I can't just put a gun to their head and tell them to eat and sleep better.

  2. #2
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    You need to buy microplates. These are non-negotiable for any lifter but especially for female lifters. They won't go far without them even with enough food. Can you tell me more about the diet situation?

  3. #3
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    Microplates will be purchased this month. Their diets are very typical of 15-16 year olds as far as my experience. They rarely eat breakfast and skip meals sometimes, one of them told me she "Forgot to eat lunch" the other day. I coached both these girls for a couple years previously when I was the Strength Coach at their school and their PE Teacher. I spent a significant amount of time trying to educate them on basic nutrition so it's not like they don't know what good habits are. Additionally, neither girl is skrawny or severely underweight. That's all the information I have in regards to their diet. The same girl that "forgot to eat lunch" also doesn't sleep well. From conversations with her she is up most nights until 1-3 AM before she falls asleep.

    I can tell when they have eaten even half way decent 24 hrs previous to lifting. Bar speed and overall energy is great. Days/Mornings where this isn't the case manageable weight doesn't move like it should and they aren't their normal chipper selves.

    Trying to get them to do the easiest thing which is eat something at breakfast before they lift.

  4. #4
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    In other words, you want a way to help them recover that doesn't involve diet and rest. Is this a good summary?

  5. #5
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    No, Rip. I'm asking a question I'm learning that there really isn't an answer for. How to get kids to make progress when they don't eat, sleep and rest. The answer is I can't.

    The more I think on this the more I want to incorporate more weightlifting movements until softball is over. Keep LP on their Squat and Deadlift, work in some bench and press each week and have them snatching, cleaning and jerking. They'll make some good progress on the weightlifting movements and when they get done with their season we can run LP again. Hopefully by then they'll learn how to take care of themselves better.

  6. #6
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    Keep them under the bar and make a point of bringing up protein and carbohydrates in every conversation you have with them. Then highlight the good days and correlate them with diet. Much of this is reinforcing the importance of recovery and connecting it with the good performances.

  7. #7
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    Thanks for the input Robert, I try to do exactly as you say without sounding like a broken record and they tune me out. I definitely have tried to show them the correlation between their good days and bad grindy days. I'll keep at it.

    Also thank you to Rip. Your probing into what I was trying to say helped me think a little more critically through this issue with programming. I want to learn and build experience on my own to be a better coach, but from time to time I like reaching out to you SSC's for either guidance or affirmation.

  8. #8
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    It's all you can do. Does your program's budget have room to buy them food? I think I know the answer but worth asking.

  9. #9
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    Sep 2014
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    starting strength coach development program
    I'm no longer working at the school, I took a job at a bigger school for next year. I started my own coaching business this summer as a side job and some students I worked with became clients.

    I have thought about having food or protein powder available for them. Fruit that will keep a while or something. My budget is basically zip until I get dues for July coming in.

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