Starting Strength(Wichita Falls Novice) for Football Offesason Training

[WWFBC10]

Implementing this on next week after testing. Finally got the other coaches to give it is shot after my three plus year experiment. I will be working with 9-12th graders M-W-F after school. Any suggestions on my approach or implementing conditioning or speed work? Thanks in advance!

[Mark Rippetoe]

Don't do any conditioning or speed work. Just get them strong. That will make them more conditioned and speedy, better than anything else you can do for them.

[WWFBC10]

What about football specific drills? Or am I still overthinking it? My head coach may not go for no speed work. What would be least harmful in your opinion. I am taking baby steps to convert my staff to Starting Strength. I will not be able to get everything at once!

[Mark Rippetoe]

Don't you do football-specific drills in football practice? Again: the speed of a junior high school kid will be improved more by getting strong than any other thing he can do. The least harmful is the course of action that permits the most effective implementation of the novice progression, which would be the least amount of other stuff you can do for about 3 months. There will be time for speed work and conditioning during two-a-days, which have worked well for this purpose because speed and conditioning are short-term adaptations that occur rapidly, while strength acquisition takes much longer. But neither you nor I can make your head coach smarter than he is.

[WWFBC10]

Thanks, an addditional question: What would suggest that I do with a student-athlete ( who was introduced to SS as a freshmen and has exhausted LP), or is this to dependent on additional information about the specific athlete?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Him you don't worry about. You have enough problems already.

[ChgoSportsFan]

Hey Rip,

Not to hijack the thread, but do you feel the same way regarding adults and conditioning?

I'm 27 and I'd like to get stronger and gain weight, but I'd prefer not to lose anything from my athleticism and jumping ability since I play some recreational basketball.

Do you think if I get my squat up from wimpy weights to 400 pounds and body weight up 20-25 pounds that in the process I'll get better, worse, or stay about the same regarding jumping, plyometric type stuff?

I really can't imagine it getting worse if I double my squat and add 12-15 pounds of LBM- but I've heard idiots say otherwise, that fat slows you down even with added muscle, and I'd like to get confirmation that they're indeed just idiots. Sure, fat hinders athletic ability, but muscle helps it, and thus fat+muscle doesn't necessarily hurt it and in most cases I think it'd help it.

Sorry for the long post.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Read these comments: http://startingstrength.com/resource...ad.php?t=17306

Then search the board.

[jedomann]

I went from 170 to 230 at 6'2" and can still jump just as high and can run a bit faster than I could before. I also play basketball once a week and now enjoy bullying guys down in the paint like I never could before.

[ChgoSportsFan]

Mark, thanks for the link.

Jedomann, good for you. That's awesome.