Merry Christmas

Editors Note: My new site is now at www.just-fly-sports.com Check it out for a wealth of information on jumping higher and running faster, all backed by research and practical experience!

Merry Christmas!

I am currently relaxing at my parents home in Milwaukee, and everything has died down quite a bit around here lately, so I have decided to write down a program template that I have found incredibly effective.

This program is designed pretty strictly for improving single leg jumping ability, although two leg jumping ability could also be improved a lot as well, it would just depend on what exercises you wanted to plug in, and what your needs are as an athlete.

So here it is. The KEY here is partly the cycle format. It is 2 weeks on and 1 week very easy, and this cycle continues until training effects (improvement are no longer noted). After this, it may be wise to move to a fatigue based cycle incorporating fewer workouts in a longer period of time. This program is a frequency based program, and has the potential to increase your single leg jump several inches in a 3-6 week time period, even if you have been training for a long time.

ON Week 1:

Monday: Weights,

Dynamic Warmup
Clean 5,4,3,3 moderate weight
10-12" Barbell Box Step-Up, 3x6, moderate weight
Barbell Calf Raise, 3x10, moderate weight
Jump Squats with minimal knee bend and ground time , 2x15, 45lb
Stretching
Recovery Methods


Tuesday: Plyometrics

Dynamic Warmup
Bounding: Full Recovery Between Sets
LRLRLR x 30m
LLRR x 30m
LLLRRR x 30m
LLLL x 30m
RRRR x 30m
LRLRLR x 50m x 2

Hurdle Hops: 6x4 over higher hurdles

3x50 Jumproping

Wednesday: slow jog/stretch/recover

Thursday: Weights

Dynamic Warmup
Snatch or Jerk/Push Press. 5,4,3,3 moderate weight (75-80% 1RM)
1/2 Squat. 3x6 moderate weight
Single Leg Calf Raise. 2x10 with weight
Jump Squats like Monday. 2x15, 45lb

Friday: Plyometrics

Bounding with 8-16lb weight vest
LRLRLR x 25m
LLRR x 25m
LLLRRR x 25m
LLLL x 25m
RRRR x 25m
LRLRLR x 40m x 2

Hurdle Hops 5x5 (lower hurdles) make sure minimal ground contact time is attained.
Jump Roping 3x50.



ON Week 2: slightly higher intensity, lower volume

Monday: Weights,

Dynamic Warmup
Clean 5,3,2 moderate/heavy weight
10-12" Barbell Box Step-Up, 2x6, moderate/heavy weight
Barbell Calf Raise, 2x10, heavy weight
Jump Squats with minimal knee bend and ground time , 2x12, 55-65lb
Stretching
Recovery Methods


Tuesday: Plyometrics

Dynamic Warmup
Bounding: Full Recovery Between Sets
LRLRLR x 30m
LLRR x 30m
LLLRRR x 30m
LLLL x 30m
RRRR x 30m
LRLRLR x 50m x 2

Hurdle Hops: 5x4 over higher hurdles

3x50 Jumproping

Wednesday: slow jog/stretch/recover

Thursday: Weights

Dynamic Warmup
Snatch or Jerk/Push Press. 4,3,2 moderate.heavy weight (80-85% 1RM)
1/2 Squat. 2x6 heavy weight
Single Leg Calf Raise. 2x10 with weight
Jump Squats like Monday. 2x15, 55-65lb

Friday: Plyometrics

Bounding with 8-16lb weight vest
LRLRLR x 25m
LLRR x 25m
LLLRRR x 25m
LLLL x 25m
RRRR x 25m
LRLRLR x 40m x 1

Hurdle Hops 5x5 (lower hurdles) make sure minimal ground contact time is attained.
Jump Roping 3x50.


Week 3: Off/Easy

Monday: dynamic warmup
3x30m low skips
3x30m high skips
3x30m skip for distance

Tuesday: play game/light training

Wednesday: weights
2x4 cleans light
2x4 snatch light
2x10 squat very light

Thursday: play game/jog/light train

Friday:
3x100m accelerations
test single and double leg jumping
4x50 jumprope


Repeat this cycle until you don't gain anymore. You can switch exercises, sets and reps, but try and keep the general scheme the same. Week 1: volume, Week 2: intensity, Week 3 rest! Repeat. Realize, there is a ton of volume in this program, and you ARE going to be pretty tired during the two weeks, but you will gain a lot in the off weeks.

Merry Christmas!

Joel Smith, MS, CSCS
Assistant Track and Field Coach
Wilmington College

Something a little different

Editors Note: My new site is now at www.just-fly-sports.com Check it out for a wealth of information on jumping higher and running faster, all backed by research and practical experience!

Normally I just tend to post regarding either strength training, jumping, or jumping events in track and field, but I decided to use this post to discuss something that I noticed at the 2008 olympics, particularly in the men's decathlon javelin throw. What I am about to post is something I actually discovered my first year throwing the javelin, and have confirmed through the years of watching athletes throw the javelin.

Now what I saw in the olympic javelin throw.......is that two of the farthest throwers in the competition were the Cuban athletes. The farthest throw of the competition was produced by Leonel Suarez at 73.98 meters, which is over 240 feet. At just around 5'10 and 170 pounds, this is a big throw.

The future of the decathlon

So what is the big deal about this? Well, if you watched the decathlon javelin throw on nbcolympics, you might realize that the majority of the decathletes would take relatively long run-ups in their throws, probably around 12-14 steps. The two Cubans however took relatively short run-ups, probably around 7-8 steps, yet they produced the number 1 and 6 throws of the 26 man competition.

What I am trying to say through all of this, is that any field event in track and field is about maximal controllable speed. Javelin seems to be the one event in particular where this philosophy gets thrown out the window, and I am not sure why. In Javelin, an effective block with the lead leg followed by the "reverse C" is one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult position to get into in track and field. As with anything, the more speed that is added, the more difficult it is to get an effective block and then subsequently get into the "reverse C". Why does it seem like every athlete then thinks that they need a huge run-up that they can't control? Is it from watching the olympic athletes and think that we need to do what they do right off the bat? Do hammer throwers do a 4-turn in their first practice? Do vaulters jump off of a 16' 200lb pole their first month of practice? So why do we think that we can take such a technical event and teach our throwers to keep blowing through their block with way too much speed in the throw?

Correct Javelin Positioning

Here is a quick story from my first year of throwing javelin: It was my junior year of college, and I had always had a good arm, but never really thought of throwing the javelin. Anyways, I learned pretty quickly and went through the first part of the season with a 10 step or so run-up and was throwing somewhere in the 50 meter range for the first part of the season. Usually in warmups, I would throw a standing throw or two, and then a few 4-step throws. Anyways, one meet, the NCCAA championships, I took a 4 step warmup throw and managed 170 feet off of it....which was only a foot or two under my PR at the time. I decided to stick with the 4 step thing and just throw that for the competition. Anyways, it turned out I threw 58 meters in the competition, which is 188'9" to be exact, a 15 foot+ PR off the last few meets. After the meet I was looking at the pictures of me throwing, and my positions and block were great! They were much better than my throwing position when I would go off of the full run-up.

So what I am I trying to say.......don't do big run-ups for beginning/intermediate javelin throwers? Well, I do believe in a holistic philosophy of track and field, i.e., I don't believe in a lot of drills, and I believe the full or shortened movement of any event should be emphasized above a bunch of drills. With javelin, however, the event needs to be built from the block outwards, rather than the throw inwards (funny how almost all guides on javelin throw start with the preliminary steps in the run-up). As far as the run-up for individual throwers, it should be as long as the thrower can still utilize an effective block, which for most high-school and college throwers will be less than 10 steps. Just ask the Cubans.

On a closing note, next time you watch an olympic level javelin thrower come in at 7.5 meters per second and launch a monster throw, please realize that they have been throwing javelin from a very young age and are from a country that has a much better physical education system than ours. Thus they have mastered the right throwing positions and can handle the extra speed.

A Balanced Training Plan

Editors Note: My new site is now at www.just-fly-sports.com Check it out for a wealth of information on jumping higher and running faster, all backed by research and practical experience!

It has been a while since I have updated this blog, as life has been busy for me lately, but perhaps another reason has just been a short psychological break of mine from reading and writing about athletics and human performance related activities (when you live and breathe this material for months and even years on end, sometimes you just need a little break). Anyways, I am back at it, and hope to string together a few good articles, as well as some high quality videos on my youtube site.

Don't tell anyone, but I think Bolt is going to take the 100m in Beijing....

For some time I have wanted to relay the idea of a balanced training program in athletics. In recent years, several authors who specialize in sport performance, and perhaps more notably, vertical jumping, have stressed heavily the importance of tackling your weaknesses as an athlete as the first priority in any training program. For example.....if you are 6' and 160lbs, and have standing jump of 30", while your running jump is in the high 30's, but you only can squat around 200, most coaches with this philosophy will make bringing your squat up the number one priority. Now if your game is a standing vertical jump or a electronic 10 yard dash, then go right ahead, but if your sport requires any higher motor functions than this, you need to always remember balance in your program.

Not what I mean by balance (or masculinity for that matter)

So what do I mean by balance? Well, there are several qualities which make up the necessary requirements to succeed in each sport. Let's look at a couple of examples. The first is that of an olympic weightlifter. Here are the foundational qualities of olympic weightlifting and the ways that they can be improved specifically to lifting weights:


Absolute Strength: Improved by maximal or near maximal lifts, and possibly a base of hypertrophy, or auxilliary sessions designed for hypertrophy.


Explosive Strength: Improved by olympic lifts (the sport specific exercise) as well as a variety of jumps and similar plyometric/shock work


Quickness: Improved by practicing olympic lifts; important for dropping under the bar quickly.


Work Capacity: Improved by gradually increasing the volume of lifts done year to year in the range of 5-10% Supplementary lifting sessions with reps of 8-10 in single joint or other simple lifts can also be useful.


Flexibility: Improved by the olympic lifts done with full catch variations as well as stretching exercises.

So there we have balance in weightlifting, now let's move on to something a little more complex, say the triple jump in track and field.

Here are the important qualities for this demanding event.

Maximal Speed: Improved by speed work on the track, particularly flying sprints and bounding in excess of 20 meters.

Reactive Power: Improved by plyometrics, such as bounding and depth jumps.

Coordination: Improved by the sport specific exercise, triple jumping and other bounding variants.

Explosive Strength: Improved by olympic weightlifting and plyometrics.

Absolute Strength: Improved by heavy squats, step-ups and similar exercises.

Elasticity: Improved by jumping, running, and any other sort of dynamic exercise which relies on the elastic power of the tendons to provide human locomotion.

Work Capacity: Improved by gradually increasing the number of jumps/bounds taken in practice per year, as well as general capacity means such as long sprints, and circuit training.

Now in something such as triple jump, one could say, well I am pretty good in everything, but my strength needs work! So I had better spend most of my time in the weightroom this coming season, and then I will be in good shape for jumping farther in the spring. Although this is not a bad idea, one really needs to look at the framework of an entire season to understand well, what will happen if one would seek to improve one area of their event at the expense of others.

Firstly, it should be considered that it is unwise to dramatically increase the training load from cycle to cycle. The load should only be increased about 5% from week to week, in order to optimize the bodies adaptive resources. Now if an athlete decides that they are really going to start getting after it in the weight room, then there is going to have to be a sacrifice somewhere else in the program, unless the 5% rule is planning on being broken. Of course, this is NOT to say that we shouldn't go around combating weaknesses in training, as we certainly should. The goal, however, is not to go overboard, and focus the training program around one weakness. I would say that if there are weak points in an athlete, say for example our triple jumper (weak in absolute and somewhat explosive strength) we could change their yearly training program from this:

Maximal Speed: 25%

Reactive Power: 25%

Coordination: we will take this variable out for this example:

Explosive Strength: 25%

Absolute Strength: 15%

Elasticity: 10%

Work Capacity: This is always trying to be improved....so this is out for this example

to this:

Maximal Speed: 20%

Reactive Power: 25%

Explosive Strength: 30%

Absolute Strength: 20%

Elasticity: 10%

I suppose this is fairly common knowledge for most coaches and a lot of athletes, but I felt it may be good to reiterate it in a way that might be from a new or unique perspective. It is also extremely important to realize that although sometimes the only way to improve is to get stronger, it is important to remember the ways that we want to get stronger. In the majority of cases, explosive athletes can make good improvements in the weight room when lifting is used secondary to sprints, plyometrics and the like. Even lifting in volumes as low as 2-3 sets of 8-10 in one or two exercises done twice a week will yield good results in strength improvement (when plyometrics, throws, sprints and jumps are composing the primary portion of your program). I did not lift much in high school, probably around once or twice a week doing one exercise for basketball in season, but yet I gained a good amount of strength and was almost as strong relative to bodyweight as I have ever been. I also combined this with very good leaping ability (able to get my head up to the rim at 6' tall). As I went to college, I probably doubled or even tripled the time I spent in the weight room, but I found that those periods where I did not balance weight room activity with elastic, speed and plyometric work, my jumping ability really took a dive, especially my leaping ability from a longer run-up (my speed got very bad as well). It was not until my junior year of college that I had a truly balanced program which allowed me to achieve record leaping ability.

So as far as this story goes, here are some practical reccommendations for balance in training.

1. Always keep the primary sport exercise as the top priority, whatever that might be (high jumping, discus throwing, playing basketball, etc...)


2. Take a look at your weaknesses and where you want to be regarding those weaknesses by the start of your season. What do you need to do to get there without sacrificing the other important elements of your training?


3. Always work on improving work capacity. Once you get to a certain point in your training, work capacity is everything, because you can get to the point where you are squatting double your bodyweight and start hitting big PR's in different jumps and suddenly crash for 2 weeks if you haven't been watching your volumes and rest/recovery ratios. A powerful CNS demands great responsibility! (If you have come a long way to get there, some of the elite athletes in the world have always had high-powered CNS and fast twitch muscles and can just take more training, period.)

As always, hope this is helpful to you, and feel free to shoot any questions my way,

Joel, CSCS, USATF level 1 (boooooo, level 1!)

joel.smith.7@gmail.com

Desire to Train

Editors Note: My new site is now at www.just-fly-sports.com Check it out for a wealth of information on jumping higher and running faster, all backed by research and practical experience!

This year's track season will soon be over, and a new season of training will soon begin. I always enjoyed the prospect of "starting over" in training, just because you no longer had to worry about what you felt like on meet day, you can just go train and that is the end of it. After nationals/state meets, most athletes take between 2 weeks and a month off before they get back to training again. This a pretty good idea, and the rule of thumb that I typically use in a transition period is just to go until I can't stand not training.

When you think about it though, the desire to train is often a great gauge regarding overtraining and fatigue. Aren't your best workouts typically on those days when you just wake up and all you can think about it getting to the weightroom or track? This is your body's system which is telling you that, yes, you are really ready for today's workout. Desire to train is definitely a good thing to keep track of when you are working out through the training year, and ESPECIALLY in the competitive season. If you go into a heavy jumping or plyometric session without really feeling enthusiastic about the workout, I GUARANTEE you are going to pay for it in a good week or two of dead legs. I have seen this in myself and also the jumpers which I coach. Now in coaching frameworks where a structured and unwavering microcycle is king, this can be a hard thing to deal with, but this is the "art" portion of the art and science of coaching. You need to know when to back off and let your athletes (or yourself) regain a strong desire to train.

A general rule of thumb with this, is that the more CNS intensive the activity, such as plyometrics, the more not being physically and mentally fresh into the workout is going to hurt you. (by plyometrics I am talking about depth jumps and heavy plyos) You can get away with being a little dull in activities such as 3 week blocks of lifting around 60-75% 1RM, because this is a little easier on the CNS and will allow fast recovery once you back off, while the training effect of depth jumps and heavy plyos can be monstrous if you dont allow enough recovery.



Joel

A short/medium length rant

Editors Note: My new site is now at www.just-fly-sports.com Check it out for a wealth of information on jumping higher and running faster, all backed by research and practical experience!

If you have been following my youtube videos lately, you might have noticed that I have had a fairly decent depth jumping and two footed jumping session recently. Based on this, I figured that I would at least have a DECENT high jumping performance at my latest meet, which was yesterday at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. As much as I would have liked to do well, I did not, and I no-heighted at 6'4.25". The cause of this was only partly technical, but was mostly due to just a lack of single leg jumping ability (couldn't even scissor 5'8 in warmups).

Now my training has been excellent up to this point, I have been having fairly good high jump practices.......almost as good as I ever have had, but it seems like every time I get to a meet, I am just flat. Now compare this to my record season where I had good practices, but then GREAT competitions. The big difference between these two seasons is really just one thing.

Volume.

I don't train as much as I used to, partly because of work, and other factors, but I feel that when I hit the gym or the track, I really take care of business. Regardless, my adaptation rate and work capacity are down (over 2 weeks for the same depth jumping session that took me only 3-4 days to recover from), and this really hurts when you have competitions to take care of. I do, however, have a running 2 leg vertical that is just as good or better than ever. So what is the point of all this................


Research has shown that in order to improve from year to year, training volume must increase. I know there are special situations where this is not true, such as Jonathan Edwards WR triple jump, but as far as my personal experience goes, this is definitely the case. Every time I look back at my training log from my record breaking season.......I am surprised by how much volume I had, and how in the world I was able to tolerate it. Here is a typical fall training week from my PR year back in 2004-2005.

Monday:

Warmup
Forward Overhead Med Ball Throws x50 total
4 step high-jumps: x8 reps, work up to 6'2
standing triple jumps x6, around 28' (note: not the greatest distance!)
1x30m alternate leg bounding
Hang Snatch, 4x95lb, 4x115lb, 4x125lb
Cleans from Floor, 4x135lb, 4x175lb, 3x195lb, 3x195lb
Jerks, 3x6, 115lb
Overhead Lunge, 2x6, 95lb

Tuesday:

8x200m sprints: around 30-32s each, 3 minute recovery

Wednesday:

Hurdle Drills
Forward Overhead Med-ball throws x50
3 Step-Javelin Throws
17" squat (about 3/4 squat) 225x6, 275x4, 300x3, 300x3
Incline Bench Press, 125x6, 135x4, 145x3
Deadlift: 225x6, 275x4, 295x3
Reverse Hypers 2x10, 25lb+band
Abs

Thursday:

5x300m at 48-50sec with 3min recovery

Friday:

2x33" double leg hurdle hops w/30m acceleration
1x30" single leg hurdle hops
1x33" single leg hurdle hops
2x36" single leg hurdle hops
Incline pullovers 5x40,50,60lb
Hurdle stretch goodmornings: 65x2
abs

Saturday or Sunday: 1-2 mile easy jog and stretch

(Note: I never really felt great on any of these training days, and I worked on a 3:1 cycle or hard weeks to easy weeks. I think I just kept pushing through the volume and adapted.......something that is hard to do when you are training by yourself.)

Well, there you have it, nothing special, and certainly not anything to write home about regarding the weights or distances, although the hurdle hops weren't bad. I feel that part of what may have made that specific season successful was just the large volume of training in the fall, and then the largely reduced training in the winter/spring. Regardless, it is annoying when you know way more about training than you did 4 years ago and still cannot produce jumps in the region that you used to be able to.

My advice to you would be this..........if you are a track athlete, it is hard to sacrafice volume, because every year I have had a low volume season, I have failed! My work capacity and adaptability rates were just too low. Of course, not everyone is like this, but I feel that the majority of athletes will fall into this category.

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice!

Post Workout Recovery

Editors Note: My new site is now at www.just-fly-sports.com Check it out for a wealth of information on jumping higher and running faster, all backed by research and practical experience!

Let face it folks, nutrition is extremely important to your success as an athlete and your recovery between workout sessions. Almost as important though, as what you put into your body, is how you time your nutrition. The most important time to facilitate nutrition, and particularly supplements is directly before and after your workout. This window has been referred to by some as the anabolic window, and demonstrates the amount of time your body has to switch itself from catabolic (breakdown) mode into anabolic (buildup) mode.

So how do you optimize your anabolic window? First of all, try a liquid solution which is fairly high in carbohyrates/or creatine right before and during your workout. Secondly, and most importantly, within 45 minutes of finishing your workout, you need to give your body what it needs in order to begin the important rebuilding process. In order to do this, you can buy an overpriced (4$ a serving on average) post-workout recovery drink..............OR, you can make this cheap and effective alternative yourself.

Post Workout Recovery Drink:

16fl oz chocolate milk
5g creatine powder
vitamins A,C and E. (take with drink)

Thats it!

Features: 3:1 ratio of carbs to protein, you will notice this ratio on other recovery drinks. Creatine helps faciliate rebuilding of ATP stores, and the ACE vitamins are anti-oxidants which help combat free-radicals and other muscle deterioration activities. You will find this as a cheap and effective post workout recovery. Try it!

Joel

The Fastest Way to Improve!!!! New Secret Training!!!

Editors Note: My new site is now at www.just-fly-sports.com Check it out for a wealth of information on jumping higher and running faster, all backed by research and practical experience!

Do I have your attention now? Ok, so here goes........and lets just use running vertical jump and dunking ability as an example today. So you want to jump higher and dunk better right? What is the FASTEST way to get better. Here are two options:

Option A:

Get your backsquat up to 1.5-2x bodyweight
then
Do plyometrics: bounding, depth jumps and the like
also
Stretch daily, do functional analysis on posture and gait, determine posterior chain vs. anterior chain strength and design a program combating these weaknesses.


Option B:

Get in a competitive environment and practice your jumping and dunking until your legs are sore. Repeat every few days.


Guess which option the 'top level' dunkers you see on youtube, etc.. use?

here's a hint.......it's not 'A'.


Ok, ok, ok.......so I understand your potential backlash and perhaps misunderstanding. I also realize that the youtube jumpers such as teamflightbrothers are genetic freaks and will be awesome no matter what type of training they do (which for them is just playing basketball and dunking). I am not saying here, that if you want to realize your ultimate athletic potential that you can get away with just practicing say, dunking, if throwing down nasty dunks is your goal. I am saying though, that you will never become the dunker/jumper you can potentially be if you get so caught up in weights/plyos/etc... that you forget the raw art form of the primary sport movement. This holds true more, the more dynamic the movement. Here is a continuum of sport movements which have increasing importance of practicing the actual sport movement.

Least Important:
Squat Jump
Standing Vertical Jump
Acceleration<10 meters
Running Vertical Jump (2 legs)
Running Vertical Jump (1 leg)
Top End Speed (flying 10 meter)
Top End Speed Endurance (300yd shuttle or 400m dash)
Most Important:

Take a look at some of the greatest athletes in sport: sprinters, jumpers, dunkers, even distance runners. What do they all have in common? They make their activity look fluid....effortless. Yet what do we do when we neglect our primary sport movement in favor of other movements. We get back to our sport specific movement and "muscle it" or "force it". Because we neglect it, it is less natural. We no longer use the SPECIFIC muscular and neural firing patterns for that activity and substitute it with other firing patterns.

Ok, so the number one way to improve any activity is what? To practice that activity, simple enough. What is the number 2 way to improve then? Depth jumps? Squats? Turkish Get-ups?
Not really, the second best way to improve is just doing a weighted version of the original. Practice dunking with a weight vest on, or sprint with a light resistance such as a parachute.

The third thing to do to max out your neural pathways is to overload the eccentric portion of whatever movement your sport is based on. This is accomplished by an exercise known as depth jumps. Research has shown that the more energy which is stored in the eccentric phase of a movement, the more energy will be released in the concentric phase. The final key to maximizing your efficiency in a specific event is by doing depth jumps and similar plyometrics.

In simple words, what do these three things do, practicing the original sport movement, weighted versions and then plyometrics? They max out your efficiency in that given activity. Once your efficiency is maxed out, or close to maxed out, only then will weightlifting really be the only way to improve. Of course weightlifting is handy before you max out your efficiency, but the closer you get to 100% efficiency, the more it will help you. Basically, practicing your movement and plyometrics will allow you to recruit the majority of your available motor units (except emergency motor units only recruitable by life/death situations), while lifting weights will increase the total motor pool available. It is as simple as that.

Here is a sample program which could help an intermediate athlete (1.25-1.5xbw squat, 26-30" VJ) get better based on the things I have just outlined.

2 Day per Week System:

Day 1:
PRIMARY
Practice Dunking/Jumping until noticable decrease in height jumped.
SECONDARY
3x8 Deadlift, with weight that you could do 10x with moderate/difficult effort

Day 2:
Practice Dunking/Jumping with weighted vest about 5-8% of bodyweight until noticable decrease in height jumped.
OR (if no weight vest)
Practice Dunking/Jumping off 18" box (depth jumps) until noticable decrease in height jumped occurs.

It really can be that simple folks.....this type of program will yield excellent short term results.

For good results over a long term, you might want to use a cycle like this alternated with weightlifting oriented cycles.

Joel