Elitetrack: Sport Training & Conditioning

is it necessary for an experienced hs jumper to lift weights (lower body max effort) during the comp phase? is it worth it? would it be better to focus more on technique, low reps of maxv and plenty of rest days interspersed throughout the peak period? from my experience - this seems to be true. what are your experiences in this area?

i run my fastest when i am strong so i lift heavy year round, during the comp phase you may do something 3-4x1-3x85-95% not a true max effort workout but still heavy.

I would go more with 3-4x 75% 1rm. After 6 weeks of doing this, we go back to max for the final 3 weeks of season (peak) which is then 1x5, 1x2, 1x1, very short workout non fatiguing and very high intense. After 6 weeks of lifting 75% my max strength usually increases, as it did this year, i PR'd in squat and clean in second session after 6 weeks of 75%.

thanks for the feedback fellas. i am always afraid of making my athletes too sore by lifting heavy while we are training hard on the track. in the past my kid's have complained and i have backed off from weight room work.
ut, i have read your previous thoughts (cf board i think) on this subject and i value your first hand experience. i am leaning towards following your advice. do i have this right….. 3-4x1-3 @ 85-95% once every 7-10 days for the last 7 weeks of the season? what would the other weight session look like during each week? more explosive (speed) lifts i assume.
uk- the fact that you have had success with your method means a great deal to me. how many reps per set during the first 6 weeks?

hscoach - 26 February 2007 07:29 AM

thanks for the feedback fellas. i am always afraid of making my athletes too sore by lifting heavy while we are training hard on the track. in the past my kid's have complained and i have backed off from weight room work.
ut, i have read your previous thoughts (cf board i think) on this subject and i value your first hand experience. i am leaning towards following your advice. do i have this right….. 3-4x1-3 @ 85-95% once every 7-10 days for the last 7 weeks of the season? what would the other weight session look like during each week? more explosive (speed) lifts i assume.
uk- the fact that you have had success with your method means a great deal to me. how many reps per set during the first 6 weeks?

first dont worry about getting sore bc the volume is very low and the workout is more of a neural workout then anything.  if you were gonna follow the heavy squat once every 10 days then a typical week would look like this:

heavy squat week:
mon:
power clean 4-6x1-3reps
back squat 3x2x85%
bench press 4-6x1-5
rdl 3x5

wed:
hang snatch 4-6x1-3
speed squat or jump squats 5-8x2-3x30-45% or 4-6x3-5x10-50bodyweight
db rows 3x6
rev hypers 3x6

NO squat week:

mon:
pc same as above
speed squats same as above
bench press same as above
speed deadlifts 2x20x20%

wed:
hang snatch same as above
jump squat or spilt jumps same as above
db rows
rev hypers

The first 6 weeks off the season? (first prep phase)

1+2 - 2x8
3+4 - 3x6
5+6 - 4x5

then into max strength phase (6,5,4,3,2) or (5,4,3,2,1) depending on exercise…i.e. squat 2 rep max, clean 1 rep max

hscoach - 24 February 2007 07:36 AM

is it necessary for an experienced hs jumper to lift weights (lower body max effort) during the comp phase? is it worth it? would it be better to focus more on technique, low reps of maxv and plenty of rest days interspersed throughout the peak period? from my experience - this seems to be true. what are your experiences in this area?

I think you can maintain strength reasonably well using alternative means (plyos, sprints, multi-throws, etc) but I do think strength work provides an invaluable stimulus for the speed-power athlete during the competitive phase. Also, it is one of the easiest variables to manipulate to induce a peak. As previously mentioned, I'd suggest sticking with major lifts (clean, squat, snatch, bench, etc) with an emphasis on either load (keeping it med-high to high) or speed of movement (with low to medium loads) and using very little volume. In my competitive phase weight training we might do as few as 12 reps in a session. Athlete's rarely if ever get sore from this type of training scenario and it provides a stimulus which can supplement the track and jump work you are doing.

A related, and maybe obvious question.

When lifting in a maintenance phase, how much should one reduce the warm up sets?

For instance, one of my athletes is finishing a heavy phase with squat work sets of 4 x 3 x 230.

His warm up sets are 5 x bar 5 x 85 4 x 120 3 x 155 2 x 190

For maintenance/comp period, I'm thinking of going to work sets of 3 x 2 x 205.

So, should we maintain the same warm up pattern of 5 x , 5x, 4x, 3x, 2x with proportionately reduced weights?  Or should we reduce weight and reduce reps by one each warm up set?  (i.e. 4x, 4x, 3x, 2x, 1x)

why soo many warmup sets?

utfootball4 - 03 March 2007 08:49 PM

why soo many warmup sets?

Two reasons:  1) We've been following Rippitoe's Starting Strength template - that's what he recommends  2) All of the kids in the group are still in their first year of serious lifting, so the warm up sets give them more practice at the movements.

If you think that's too much, what would you recommend?  (Athlete in the example weights 132 and is nearing his the end of this first year of consistent programmed weight training and has decent form on his lifts.)