Programming for HS athletes

[mpalios]

I know this has been addressed in the past, sort of (I think).

To Mark, or other SS coaches, how would you design an off-season workout program, to include the 5 major lifts (6 if include chins) for a HS team, while incorporating conditioning? Would you add any additional lifts? (I'll be honest... It seems important for a football player to have strong biceps..... Right?... So adding curls, as an example?)

I am not wanting to plagerize, more just curious how it would be designed, having to incorporate other training aspects. And any other lifts added, if any.

Thanks.

[Kyle Stevens]

I'm not an SSC, but I have experience working with HS athletes. Most of the time just running NLP is all they need. By the time kids start stalling out because they don't eat or sleep the season will be at hand. I liked working in cleans an snatches a bit early (4-5 weeks) after letting deadlifts get heavy. Don't worry about conditioning until a month or so before the season starts. Tell them EVERY GOD DAMN DAY TO EAT. PUT FOOD IN YOUR GOD DAMN MOUTH HOLE. Some kids will hate the grind of NLP, find ways to make things fun and competitive. When they are breaking school records and setting PR's they'll get why you did it.

I also recommend weekly competitions. I liked doing something isometric so it wouldn't fucking destroy them. Bent arm hangs for time, some type of grip or plate holding, ect...

[Sean Berry]

I know this has been addressed in the past, sort of (I think).

To Mark, or other SS coaches, how would you design an off-season workout program, to include the 5 major lifts (6 if include chins) for a HS team, while incorporating conditioning? Would you add any additional lifts? (I'll be honest... It seems important for a football player to have strong biceps..... Right?... So adding curls, as an example?)

I am not wanting to plagerize, more just curious how it would be designed, having to incorporate other training aspects. And any other lifts added, if any.

Thanks.

This is what I do for a living.

Kids will not eat nor sleep enough.

So, we run Starting Strength understanding this and accommodating by being conservative in weight increases compared to the rate you would use for a dedicated client.

On off days, we add chins and LTEs fairly early.

I try to catch incoming freshmen to during summer workouts to teach Power Cleans.

If there is any way I can help, let me know.

sb

[mpalios]

Thanks for the insight. Again, I'm not a coach, and my 16yo sure as hell doesn't listen to me, so I'm asking more curiously....Kyle doesn't introduce conditioning until a month or so before season starts. Sean, are you the same? That **SEEMS** to be a long time during a normal summer to not have any conditioning.

It also is completely counter-intuitive to just work 3 sets of 5 for training. I've been programmed to think more is better...bench, dumbbell incline, dumbbell flies, etc etc etc. (of course, I never did that shit, I ran cross country 30 years ago....).

I *KNOW* the NLP works for me, I'm getting stronger now. Just wasn't sure of the application to kids training, and lifting, how how to incorporate the seemingly many lifts an athlete either is doing, or needs to do, to prepare for a season.

Hope that all makes sense.

[Kyle Stevens]

Here's my reasoning for what I do, you can make your own choices....

First, less is more. You are dealing with children that have little to no attention spans and suck at listening. The more movements you use the worse they will be at those movements. Back Squat, Bench/Press, Deadlift, Clean and Snatch. Poof. All your bases are covered and the kids will get strong if they follow your coaching.

Last for conditioning. Cardiovascular conditioning does not take long to acquire, also the more you run the weaker you get. So...if the goal of lifting weights is to get stronger and running a lot makes you weaker...hold off on that shit until you absolutely need to. If the kids are doing compound barbell movements, learning the weightlifting movements and lifting using linear progression they will get strong (run faster, jump higher, hit harder). If you are doing a bunch of shit to make them tired and sweaty each work out then you are putting an unnecessary ceiling on their strength gains.

Very last point, when I did work in conditioning I did 2 things. 1 I would keep lifting intensity up and take some volume out. This freed up time to condition and also helped prevent burning kids up. 2 I tried using as little eccentric loading as possible for conditioning to keep them from getting sore. Sprints are a must in my book, but not a shitload everyday. Sled pushes, tire flips, hill sprints, jump rope, dot drill, ladder drill is most of what I used.