Off-season training

[eclarkhb]

Looks good - how are you alternating the training days? You have 5 days listed, but you are lifting 3 days a week....

For me, I'm pushing for some PR's in squat & overhead press by Dec 31st, and I've also integrated some speed work.

Right now I'm doing a variation of Wendler's 5/3/1, 3 days a week, but I'm squatting each day, because my squats (and flexibility) need a lot of work.

For speed/explosiveness, I'm aiming for Sprints Monday, Bounding (plyometrics) on Tuesday, Box jumps on Friday & hills on Saturdays. I'm doing short distances & focusing on speed & power not cardio. I don't hit them all every week, but that's ok, I'll get more intense with it starting in January. I'll also taper the intensity through Jan-Feb-March-April...

In January, I'm also switching to The Juggernaut Method by Chad Wesley Smith, which will have me doing some higher rep cycles in January & Feb, which will be good for me.

My throwing technique needs a lot of work, so I'm trying to do drills 5 days a week, when I can fit it in & practice on the weekends (when kid's soccer doesn't interfere). Again, I don't beat myself up if I miss something, because I have a very busy schedule with work & family, so I view it as a set of goals each week & try to get as close as I can.

[Alan H]

Looks good - how are you alternating the training days? You have 5 days listed, but you are lifting 3 days a week....

Right. So for example if I start with a squat Day on Monday, I won't squat again until the following Friday. This is a ten day cycle, which is probably a long time between various exercises, but we'll see how it goes. I tend to adjust as I go along.

For me, I'm pushing for some PR's in squat & overhead press by Dec 31st, and I've also integrated some speed work.

Right now I'm doing a variation of Wendler's 5/3/1, 3 days a week, but I'm squatting each day, because my squats (and flexibility) need a lot of work.

5-3-1 = good. Two thumbs up.

For speed/explosiveness, I'm aiming for Sprints Monday, Bounding (plyometrics) on Tuesday, Box jumps on Friday & hills on Saturdays. I'm doing short distances & focusing on speed & power not cardio. I don't hit them all every week, but that's ok, I'll get more intense with it starting in January. I'll also taper the intensity through Jan-Feb-March-April...

I'd suggest to not try to both "lift big" and also do all this cardio at the same time. Sprints? Great...love them. Mike Pockoski recommends sprinting and Mike knows his business. Just...should you be lifting for weight PR's AND do pylos and stuff at the same time? You can do quickness and explosiveness work during the beginning of the season.

In January, I'm also switching to The Juggernaut Method by Chad Wesley Smith, which will have me doing some higher rep cycles in January & Feb, which will be good for me.

My throwing technique needs a lot of work, so I'm trying to do drills 5 days a week, when I can fit it in & practice on the weekends (when kid's soccer doesn't interfere). Again, I don't beat myself up if I miss something, because I have a very busy schedule with work & family, so I view it as a set of goals each week & try to get as close as I can.

Bold added by me...."drills" if you mean ten minutes worth of foot reversal drills and maybe chucking a softball around, that's fine. If you mean an hour of drills with the full weights, you might want to think about that. Nobody I know does the weights AND the explosiveness AND the drills concurrently.

Don't get me wrong, I am all about drills, but honestly, can you actually do all this stuff and have a life? I suspect you're going to burn out. I know that Queen Mary is not THAT far away, but you might want to talk to the OC Practice group people about what they do. Seriously.

Personally, during the first part of the season...March- May, that is when I am working the hardest. I lifted once a week and threw MAYBE 3x a week this past year and that was A LOT. Seriously, a 90-120 minute throws workout, three times a week....most Pro's don't even do that. Volume is good, and to some degree you jus thave to do this stuff over and over again, but it's better to practice SMART. Next year I will not throw more than 2x a week, and I will probably do more lifting during the season.

[eclarkhb]

Thanks for the feedback, Alan -

As far as the sprinting, etc goes, I'm not doing it for Cardio, I'm doing for speed & explosiveness & general GPP. At this point its not a priority in my training, so it gets done when I have time & can fit it in. I'm resting between sets more than I would if my focus was on cardio & the distances are very short. Sprints are typically 10-30 yards, with the total distance for the entire session being <150-200 yards for example. It actually makes a great warmup for lifting. Not to mention, I actually enjoy doing this stuff, which has as much to do with it as anything...

Also as far as the drills, 5 days a week is a target, but I don't hit that often. And yes these are drilling sessions, where I take 1 exercise & work on footwork. These sessions are typically 10-25 minutes, and not strenuous. With stones, I will typically do some throws, but the focus is technique not distance. With WFD or hammer, I don't have the implements, so I'm working with no implement or sometimes with a orange traffic cone, to provide some resistance. the only time I'm able to work with actual implements is at the OC Highlander's practice sessions on the weekends, but right now I have kids soccer commitments every weekend...

So I sort of put this together, with the different exercise session having different priorities. Lifting 3 times a week is non-negotiable. If I miss Monday due to work or family, then I'll do Monday's workout on Tuesday, for example. For the other stuff, I do it if I have time & can fit it in. I work from home most of the time, and I work out in my garage, so this kind of schedule works very well for me & its not enough where I'm going to get burned out.