I felt that there was a need for reliable
and proven training information for coaches, parents, and athletes who were unfamiliar
with this area. You can now access this comprehensive, easy-to-understand
resource guide to creating and implementing training programs for high school
and college athletes. I created this guide during my time as a
strength and conditioning coordinator at the college level. It was also
part of a project that I completed for my Master’s thesis. The resource guide
includes instructions on how to design and implement year-round programs. Also
included in the guide:
·
Explanation of program design
· Explanation of assessment procedures
· Strength level charts
· Player Work-Out cards
· Off-season calendars
· Conditioning program, including endurance training, sprint training, form
running skills, agilities, plyometrics, and medicine
ball training.
Please feel free to print or save these documents and personalize the program for your athletes by using Microsoft Word and Excel. However, please note that these documents are copyrighted and published and may not be used for personal financial gain.
Softball and
baseball are activities that demand a high degree of refined skills. Being
skill-related sports, nothing can replace the practice and repetition of the
specific skills associated with each sport.
However, an effective training program can help improve performance on
the field. Softball and baseball are
sports that require athletes to make quick and explosive movements, have great
balance and overall body strength and coordination, as well as maintaining an
excellent flexibility level. Being involved in a sport such as softball or
baseball makes it important that you maintain a very high level of strength,
stamina, and joint stability. By
participating in a training program, the athlete will be more resistant to
injury, and if injuries do occur, they will be able to recover from them more
quickly. Also, the stronger and better conditioned the athlete is, the more
productive they will be during competition.
This manual has been developed to help guide you through all aspects of
a training program that are necessary for you as a softball/baseball player. In
this manual you’ll find a detailed training program and explanations of the
various drills, exercises, and movements.
Performance-based training
encompasses a variety of training components that produce physical benefits
that correlate to an athlete’s on-field performance. The exercises and movements contained within
a performance-based training program are meant to prepare an athlete for a successful
performance during competition. In
performance-based training, there is less emphasis on the aesthetic outcomes of
training—how an athlete looks—and a greater emphasis on how the athlete
performs in competition. A
performance-based training program also seeks to address any weaknesses or
imbalances that the individual athlete may have.
Performance-based training is
comprised of four components related to the development of a totally
conditioned athlete. The components
include strength/power training, endurance training, speed training, and
flexibility.
In regards to the strength and power
training component, this program is very specific and planned out in advance
and is designed to increase the strength and power that is needed to become a
more efficient athlete. The program is
intended to work specific muscle groups and movements that are involved with
most sports. The exercises utilized in
this program will accomplish the following objectives if performed correctly:
1.
Increase the strength and power required for the explosive movements utilized
in sports.
2.
Improve the efficiency of muscular movements necessary for an athlete by
simulating movements that are used in competition.
3.
Decrease the chance of injury by strengthening each of the muscle groups and the
connective tissue.
4.
Develop confidence in the athlete’s ability during competition through the
goals that they achieve throughout the training program.
The strength/power program consists of a
group of primary exercises and a group of supplemental exercises. The primary exercises focus on the major
muscle groups and movements and include the bench press, squat, power cleans, deadlift, incline press, close-grip press, power press,
jerks, bent-over rows, and military press (*primary exercises should not be
performed by anyone who has not received instruction on proper technique). The supplemental exercises focus on the
muscle groups that assist in the primary movements.
The structure of this program is dependent
upon the athlete's one rep maximum (1RM) in each primary exercise. The 1RM is the amount of weight the athlete
can lift on one maximal attempt in a primary exercise. It is important that this 1RM be very
accurate for the athlete to benefit from the program. More information on finding the athlete’s 1RM
can be found in the testing and assessment section.
Once the 1RM has been found, the workout
is planned for an initial eight-week cycle, which will be referred to as the
standard program. Throughout any
training period, the athlete will be using weights based upon average
intensities (the percentages for each phase).
These weights can be found by multiplying the athlete's RM for each
primary exercise by the average intensity percentage for that particular week,
or by using the enclosed intensity chart.
The training program consists of a
year-round cycle which is broken down into four microcycles:
off-season, pre-season, in-season, and post-season. For a baseball player, for example, the microcycles would look like this: off-season (September –
January), pre-season (January – March), in-season (March – May), and
post-season (May- August). The
post-season and off-season emphasis is on building a strong foundation for the
pre-season and in-season training. As
the program progresses through the pre-season cycle and into the in-season
cycle, the training goals become more sport-specific and there is a greater
emphasis placed upon maximal strength and power. During the in-season cycle, the players
should be in peak physical condition.
Each training microcycle
is further broken down into three different phases, with each phase
concentrating on a particular average intensity level. These phases all have a specific training goal, and the parameters of each are structured to maximize
physical gains. Altering the number of
sets, reps, and the level of intensity of the exercise places a different
stimulus on the body, therefore promoting optimal muscular growth.
Phase one is the base phase. This phase incorporates light weight and high
reps to build the athlete’s endurance and a foundation for strength.
Phase two is the strength development
phase. During this phase, an athlete
will begin to notice an increase in strength.
The weight lifted is moderately heavy, while the reps are relatively
low.
Phase three is the peak and power
phase. During this phase, the weight is
very heavy while the reps are very low.
This phase helps the athlete become accustomed to lifting heavy weights
while maximizing their strength and power gains and preparing them for the next
eight week cycle.
If the athlete completes all of the sets
and reps required for a primary exercise at any time during the eight-week
period, then their 1RM may be adjusted upward since the athlete will become
stronger throughout the period. A five
to ten pound increase is usually sufficient.
The sample in the program design section shows that the 1RM should at
least be increased five pounds during Week 5 and also Week 7 due to strength
increases throughout the training cycle.
If, at any time, the athlete fails to accomplish the prescribed number
of reps at the prescribed weight, the 1RM should be kept the same or slightly
lowered. Also, in Weeks 5 and 7, the 1RM
can be kept the same if the coach feels that the athlete has not made
significant progress.
Once the athlete has finished an
eight-week cycle, they should engage in one week of active rest. During this week of active rest, the athlete
should once again test in each of the primary exercises to find their new 1RM
to be used for the next training cycle.
Also, they can participate in moderately intense activities such as
basketball, swimming, bicycling, etc.
To
ensure that the training program remains fresh, a variation of the initial
eight-week cycle may be used. The format
for this training program, referred to as the secondary program, includes some
pyramid sets for core lifts in particular weeks. The primary difference in this program is
that the sets and reps change every week, instead of every two weeks as in the
standard training program. Examples of
both programs are included in this guide.
In other sections of this training guide,
you will find the general guidelines which are used to plan the core lifts,
followed by the specific percentages and repetitions used for the core
lifts. The bench press is used as an
example.
INTENSITY – THE KEY TRAINING INGREDIENT
It is
important that you record the weight that you use on each exercise. Every time
that there is a rep change, change the weight you use as well. High intensity
while training is a must! Be aggressive
and powerful throughout each movement, and if you can make the rep target on
the last set of an exercise, then the weight should be increased for the next
workout.
Just going
to the weight room and lifting weights
and doing the number of sets and reps required for each exercise,
doesn’t guarantee that you will make any real progress. Some athletes never
miss a workout yet they make little, if any, progress. The same can be said for
conditioning, agility, and speed work. Just doing what’s written up doesn’t
mean that you’re getting the most out of a designed training program. Improvement is all about INTENSITY. Without intensity, you will not be able to
achieve maximum results. Intensity in
the weight room is developed largely by:
1. The amount
of weight that you use on each set of each exercise (overload).
2. The regular
progression of increasing the
resistance or weight lifted throughout the entire program.
3. The effort
put forth by the athlete.
Without
regular progression and weight increases, strength levels will not
increase. If you do 3 sets of 12 reps on
the squat with 135 lbs. and the following week your workout calls for 3 sets of
12 reps on the squat, don’t use 135 lbs--you’ve already done that! Increase the weight-- that’s where the
progression comes in. If one week an
exercise requires you to perform 10 reps, and the following week it requires
you to perform 8 reps, you MUST increase the resistance/weight in order to
continue making strength gains!
There are
some exercises in the training program that don’t require a continual increase
in the amount of resistance or weight.
This would include the supplemental exercises that use dumbbells or
lighter amounts of weight. With these
exercises, find a weight that provides adequate resistance throughout the
movement and stay with it for a while, concentrating on full range of motion
and quality movement on each rep. Even on these exercises, however, you may
eventually need to increase the resistance or weight.
Intensity
in your conditioning, agility, and speed work is developed by working as hard
as you can on each sprint, each plyometric, or each agility that you perform. The goal times that have been provided in
your conditioning program are very general and should be used only as a
starting point. You must determine what the appropriate goal time is for each
athlete, and have them work to improve it each week. If the athlete is pleased
because they made all of the goal times one week, then they should not be
pleased the next week unless they surpass some of the times from the week before. Never settle for doing as well as you did
last week!
Finally,
understand that the way you eat, the rest that you
get, the way that you treat your body, makes a big difference in the way you
train and perform. Increase carbohydrate
intake prior to workouts. Balance your carb and protein intake after workouts. Keep fat to a minimum.