Winter
Programs
Upon
completion of the fall program, the athletes should take one week of active
rest. The only lifting that will be done
during this week is the testing to find the athlete’s new one-rep maximum in
the primary exercises. These 1RM will be
used for the winter training cycle. Once
again, the coach may also test the athletes in any other exercises or agilities
that they deem necessary.
The winter
program will begin immediately following the week of active rest and
testing. The winter program is also an
eight-week cycle, with part of the program occurring over the holiday
break. Typically, the athletes will have
nine weeks to complete the eight-week cycle, allowing for a week off between
holidays. The winter program involves a
lot of dedication on the behalf of the athlete, especially for a college
athlete since the holiday break may run for four to five weeks. Strength gains are generally smaller during
this cycle due to unsupervised training over the holiday break and also due to
the fact that the biggest gains will be seen in the fall, when most athletes
are beginning a serious training program for the first time that season.
In this
section, there are 3 samples of winter programs. The first program is a variation of the
standard linear program. In our program,
I will typically use a variation program in the winter after using a standard
linear format in the fall which allows for variety in the training
routine.
The second
example is in the standard linear format.
The third example is the alternating periodization
program. It will take some time for the
coach to determine which format works the best for their program.
Both of
these programs include a 5-day training schedule. Three of the days will include weightlifting,
while the other 2 days will include a variety of other training
activities. Again, use the exercise menu to choose your
exercises on the workout card.
5-Day Winter Programs (3 days of weight
training, 2 days of additional training)