Weekly

• Sprints x 2
• Plyometrics x 2
• Weights x 2
• Circuit x 2
• Abs x 4

Sprints P1

• Jog and dynamics
• Drills AR 5m – BK 5m – HK 5m – Transition 20m = 35m x 3 = 105m

Sessions 1

• 30-50-70-100-70-50-30m = 400m
• Hill runs 7 x 40-60m = 280  -420m

Session 2

• 3 x 300m in 40-50 secs = 900m
• This is 22-27 kmph, target us 25 kmph for 40 secs

Plyometrics

• 50 cm box bounce
• 25 cm Brendon Reilys or bounding
• Reps are 13-8-5-3-2 each exercise and alternate. Total 31 reps x 2 = 62

Abs

• Triangle abs + Canali sit up extension 10-8-6-4-2 = 30 reps each
• Progress weekly to 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 = 55 reps each
• Push and pull 20-30s each leg
• X push inside 20-30s
• 90 push 20-30s
• 60 push 20-30s
• Slow straight legs 20-30s up and down
• Slow bent legs 20-30s up and down

Weights

• 600m row + dynamics
• 20 full air squats
• Med ball clean and jerk x 10 6kg
• Barbell complex 20kg x 1

1.  Clean 30 kg + Push press  25 kg  21-13-8 reps total time 9:08
2. 5 mins rest
3. Full back squat 30 kg + Bench press 30 kg  21-13-8 reps

• Cycle and foam roller

Lifts to chose from:

A – Upper body

• Clean 30kg
• Shoulder press 25kg
• Bench 30kg

B – Lower body

• Full back squat 30-40kg
• 90 deg squat 70-80kg
• Leg press 100kg ?
• Step Ups 25kg

C – Full body complex

• Dead Lift 30-40kg
• Full front squat + shoulder press 25kg

Pic 2 exercises from different groups A, B, C and combine them in 21-13-8.  One exercise must be from group C at least once a week. Time the lifting and record if you can.

Priorities are:

1. Mechanics – is you technique correct regardless of speed or time
2. Consistency through all reps
3. Intensity: faster movement, more weights, beat target time.

You can only progress nr.3 when 1 and 2 are good, so be concerned about technique and consistency over target time of intensity if you are on you own.

There are 26 possible two exercise combinations with out choosing from the same group. So it is possible for all the weights session to be different through out the Phase 1 lifting. n

Circuits 

• Air squats
• push up narrow
• lunges
• dips
• shin hold
• push ups wide
• step ups
• running knees
• calf raise
• brupees to stand

All exercises are 20-30 seconds for 4 rounds total time about 30 mins

Progression

• week 1  are 20s and 2-4-2 min rest
• weeks2,3 and 4 are 25s and 1:45 – 3:30 – 1:45 mins rest
• weeks 5,6,7,and 8 are 30s and 1:30 – 3 – 1:30 mins rest

Jon has complete 7 weeks of base conditioning before the start of his second winter training. You can read his programme here for this phase, large numbers of reps in the gym and many km of running has been great preparation. Being over 50 now we have decided to extend the normal range of each phase of 6 weeks to 7 – 8 weeks. This is to give his body a little bit longer to physiologically adapt to the training stimulus. My only concern is the nervous system burn out after week 7, but Jon has a busy season now playing and composing so the 8 weeks will give us the real world flexibility that we need.

The principles of this phase are:

• Hypertrophy
• Full range of movement
• Mechanics and consistency

To track our progress we will be looking at a number of baseline tests. Jon has already lost over 20kg of body weight over the last year and now is a very steady 79-80 kg. Here are the test we are thinking of doing.

• Body Composition (fat% muscle mass etc.)
• Clean max
• Full squat and 90 degrees squat max
• Leg press max
• Jurk/push press
• 30m sprint
• Standing high and long jump
• Bounding 5 reps
• Medicine ball throws front/back/shot L/shit R/chest/football

Phase 1 planing

Plyometrics 2 x weekly

• Full squat jump rebound to box 50cm
• Bounding
• Reps for 5 rounds are 13-8-5-3-2

Weights 2 x weekly

• Clean & shoulder press
• Full squat/leg press & bench
• Reps for 3 rounds are 21-13-8

Sprints 2 x weekly

• Distance in metets 30-50-70-100-70-50-30 = 400m
• 300m in 40-50 seconds x 3 = 900m (21-27 km/h)
• Hill runs 40.60m x 8 = 320-480m

Core 3 x weekly

• Hip & triangle sit
• Canali sit up to extension
• 5-10 rounds, reps 10-8-6-4-2 progression to 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 after 6 weeks

Core 3 x weekly

• Push and pull knees 20s each
• X – push knees 20s
• 90 deg 20s
• 60 deg 20s
• Slow sit up straight legs 20s up 20s down
• Slow sit up bent legs 20s up 20s down

Circuits – we will work this out Jon…

Rickard is an ex swimmer and this was his first jumps session. The mechanics of this session was all double foot work warming up with full range exercises and learning how to accelerate the body mass through hip and ankle extension. Consistency was achieved though repetition, and intensity was controlled by jump hight, length and hight of fall in the depth jump. The biggest risk in this training is the ground contact forces on landing.

We defined plyometrics as “The ability to load and unload a muscle groups as quickly as possible”

We described the different ways of jumping by using a proactive – reactive (self – externally paced) continuum. With rebound plyometrics on the reactive end of the scale.

The key to plyometric exercises is keeping the ground contact time quick under 0.2 sec where the loading phase initiates the stretch reflex in the muscles. learning to combine this reflex with the voluntary contractions learnt in the jump exercises will produce best results.

Warm up 80 reps

• 800m row
• Full squats x 20
• Full squat jump x 10
• 1/2 Squat jump x 10
• Calf raise x 20
• Bent leg calf raise x 20

Ladder jumps 90 reps

• 1/4 tram jumps 3 x 10
• Narrow – wide 3 x 10
• Left – right 3 x 10

Standing Jumps 21 reps

• 25cm Depth jump to hold x 3
• 25cm Depth jump to rebound x 3
• Standing long jump x 3
• Standing long jump – bum kick x 3
• Standing long jump – knees up x 3
• Standing long jump – bum kick, knees up x 3
• Standing long jump for distance x 3

Total reps = 191

Total ground contacts with 2 feet = 111

Training was done @ Front Yard Studio Majorstuveien 17a 0367 Oslo, Norway

1. Passive position – no muscle contraction and help from coach
2. Active – static position with muscle contraction
3. Eccentric – lengthening of muscle under contraction in and out of position
4. Concentric – shortening of muscle under contraction in and our of position
5. Dynamic – ability to hold position and control instability thrown at the body
6. Sports specific – ability to function through all positioning in the sporting environment

The exercises we did are basic and fundamental to further progression of movement control. Static exercises are held for 30 secs for now. Mobility exercises are done with control and through the full range possible.

• Roll situps with shoulder extension.
• Single leg straight with shoulder press lying.
• Standing piked shoulder extension stretch.
• Pressing through foot to hands standing piked.
• Sitting arch and ball for lumbar mobility.

This session was completed over 90 mins in my Front Yard Studio.

1. 800m Row + dynamic stretching
2. Kettle bell squats x 20 + straight leg dead lift x 20 @ 16kg – 3 rounds (120 reps)
3. Canali shoulders lying piked or knees to chest
4. Shoulder press x 10 @ 10kg + overhead full squat with pole x 10 – 3 rounds (60 reps)
5. 3 point clean @ 60 – 80kg + push press x 10 @30 – 40kg – 3 rounds (39 reps)
6. Front squat full x 10 @ 40kg – 3 rounds (30 reps)
7. Back squat full x 10 @ 60kg – 3 rounds (30 reps)
8. Bench 20 wide + 15 narrow @ 20kg
9. Bench x 10 @ 50kg – 3 rounds (30 reps)
10. Bicep curl x 10 @ 20kg + dips x 10 + pull ups full x 5 – 3 rounds (75 reps)

Total reps = 419

Training programme for 6 weeks of aerobic conditioning before the start of phase 1 strength conditioning for high jump. The principles are strength based movement done correctly, consistency of repetitions to keep heart rate high and intensity is controlled by speed of movement and rest periods.

Jon Willy M50 High Jump

*Movement
*Consistency
*Intensity

This is a 6 week training block with 5 – 6 session per week, approximately 30 training sessions. 2 x week weights, 2 x week running total 15-20km and 1-2 x week PT posture and Canali workshops. In this block the running should total over 100 km, weights will be 5,000 – 6,000 reps and 6+ hours of PT workshop. This volume and consistency in movements will training the aerobic and nervous control systems preparing them for winter phase 1, the next 6 week training block. Target zone for the heart rate is 60 -80% HRmax, for 50 yr old this will be 102 – 136 bpm. This range should be held throughout each training session.

Weight training session 2 x weekly

800m row + dynamic stretching and mobility

Barbell complex
1) Up right row x3
2) High pull snatch x3
3) Squat shoulder press x3
4) Good morning x3
5) Bent over row x3
6) Deadlift x3
7) Bicep curl x3
(Repeat 3 times = 63 reps x 3 = 189 reps)

All of the above is repeated 3 time with no rest continuously. Full rest after each set and repeat 3 rounds

Squats 8-10kg kettle bell

Narrow x 20
Normal x 20
Wide x 20
(Repeat 3 time = 60 x 3 = 180)

Clean
5 x 10 reps at 30kg into 3 depth jump 30cm box. Full rest
Total 50 reps, 15 reps depth jump

Barbell Squats
5 x 10 at 45 – 50 kg into 3 full pull ups
Total 50 reps squat, 15 reps pull up

Volume totals for this block of training
Barbell 189 x 10 – 12 = 1890 – 2208 reps
Kettle bell squats 180 x 10 – 12 = 1800 – 2160
Cleans 50 x 10 – 12 = 500 – 600
Barbell squats 50 x 10 – 12 = 500 – 600
Pull ups 15 x 10 – 12 = 150 – 180
Depth jump 30cm 15 x 10 – 12 = 150 – 180

TOTAL REPS
10 sessions = 4990 reps
12 session = 5928 reps

Squats were 60 kg 3 x 10 and Deadlifts were 60 kg 3 x 30 reps with different grips. The full programme of my training is the same as Wednesday and you can read the post here.

Interview – by Joel Smith

Simon Hunt is an athletics coach from the UK, and a guy I have known ever since I started looking up videos on track and field jumping performance on YouTube. A prolific trainer, perhaps his most notable athlete has been Margrethe Renstrøm who is the Norwegian record holder in women’s long jump at 6.68m. I am very excited to pick Simon’s brain with a few questions regarding power training and plyometrics. Here is our first interview.

Joel Smith (JS) – What are your thoughts on box height in depth jumping?

Simon Hunt (SH) – The point of jumping off a box is to add the force of the body falling to preload the muscles so they can contract more powerfully when you rebound off the floor. This requires a quick contact time of under 0.25 sec to utilise the energy stored in the ligaments and tendons in the rebound jump. A longer contact time results in this energy being lost. A good jump is a refection of the power output of a athlete. High jump = high power output. Power is a function of force and time. The relationship between the amount of force and how fast an athlete is dealing with it is crucial in coaching good technique and training. Most studies show that jumping off a box height of over 60 cm does not increase power output. This is because the force the athlete is dealing with is to large for them to rebound off the floor under 0.25 sec, and the resulting jump is no higher than a static jump. The same effect can be observed by increasing the passive weight of the athlete with a weighted vest. Effectively there comes a point where the athlete is not performing a rebound jump but is just jumping off a box landing and then jumping again, as two separate movements. The best indicator that the box is too high and the power output is being reduced is a reduction in the height of the rebound jump. So just follow the simple rule that you must be jumping high to be training your jumping. Low jump training does not work and I don´t like it. So fundamentally the box is there to help you jump higher, not lower which is what happened to most people jumping off a over 60 cm box.

Sets & reps: 200 reps per session (250 max) 2 sessions per week MAX. Most studies show that 3 times a week is detrimental to jumping, this is true in my own experience as well.

Do not start plyometric training until you can skip rope consistently for 5 mins (Approx 150 – 160 light contacts per min = 750 – 800)

JS – What are your thoughts on the practice of single leg depth jumps or single leg hurdle hops?

SH – This is a difficult exercise to get right. Basically you must be technically perfect. Considering the forces that I have described above involved in two legged depth rebound jumping, removing a leg from the equation will lead to a doubling of the force. So to keep the contact time below 0.25 sec you must halve the height of the boxes, and I would halve the number of contacts to begin with as well. The training forces on the body are high doing this which means the performance pay off must be well worth it. I´m not sure it is as you can have the same effect with easier exercises. There is no need to complicate things or add unnecessary risks in my opinion. I personally started single leg hurdle hops when I was recovering from a torn Achilles, using my good leg. This was mainly because it made me mad to watch my training partner Luke Crawley jumping while I could not, so I bet him I can do it off one leg. I like to use single leg contacts in continuous box jumping with a single foot on the box and two feet on the floor. Small technical hopping over very low hurdles is best to start with. If the upper body begins to learn in ANY direction (usually forward first) during the hop then reduce the hurdle height. Above all keep this exercise for training technique.

JS – What are your thoughts on the use of maximal strength training (over 90% 1rm) in track and field athletes?

SH – Brilliant! But only in weight lifting exercises NOT powerlifting. By this I mean clean, snatch and squat. Not deadlift. I use 90% in the competition phase of training that last for 6 weeks. 3 sets of 3 reps each at 90 – 95% max, two times a week. Using 60 sec rest between sets will really train the ATP and neurological systems to their maximum. Using longer rest between sets (2-5 mins) will simulate competition conditions. To understand your athletes power output you need to add up the total weight lifted and the total time. E.g. 3 x 3 @ 100kg = 900kg. Each set is about 12 sec (4 sec per lift) with 2 x 1 min rest. So over a total of 2m36s 900kg was lifted at a rate of 346kg/min. This figure relative to body weight is a great guide to your athletes fitness and power capabilities.

JS – What do you think of endurance bounding? (Over 30 meters)

SH – This is a plyometric session all of its own. Only to be done when the legs are fresh and rested for 72 hours. I watched Stefan Holm do this over 60m using 17 -18 bounds, on an indoor athletics track. I use up to 10 bounds in most plyometric programmes in combination with other exercises. You need to be incredibly robust to do 17 – 18 bounds, and consistent too.

Most athletes are not robust enough to do this in combination with other exercises. This does not mean they are not good performers in track and field. The surface you do this on is of major importance like any plyometric exercises, soft and responsive tracks are the best, or real grass to start with. Putting greens and firm fairways are perfect surfaces to bound on but most golf clubs won´t allow it. Let me know if you find one Joel!