The Big Picture

by: Ron McKeefery
Asst. Athletic Director, Strength & Conditioning, University of South Florida
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It has been the goal of this article series to provide coaches with the ability to design a safe and productive strength and conditioning program. In this article I would like to reiterate some of the information provided in prior articles and give you a sample template.

Before designing a strength and conditioning program it is most important to define what it is you are trying to accomplish. At the University of South Florida we have five program goals: 1. To maximize the genetic potential in all the components of athleticism. 2. To decrease the risk of injury, and enhance the rehab process. 3. To design strength and conditioning programs that is sport, position, and player specific. 4. To be safe in all aspects of our program. 5. To run a very intense program.

It is also important to root your program in scientific principles. At USF we are principle based and not philosophy based. This allows us to take from several different philosophies to decide what is best for our athletes. We have 10 principles we follow: Overload, Progression, Balanced Development, Perfect Technique, Reversibility, Specificity, Supervision, Periodization, Evaluation, and Variety.

Each day should begin with a stretch and dynamic warm up. Stretching allows the athlete to know the definitive start time, mentally prepare, and improve flexibility. The dynamic warm up improves flexibility, increases core temperature, and allows you the opportunity to work additional need areas such as speed development.

We use three classifications for exercises: Total Body, Multiple Joint, and Single Joint. Total body movements train several muscle groups. It is metabolic, mimics several sport joint actions, and maintains all the strength and power benefits provided by resistance training. Multiple joint movements help to train the body to coordinate several muscle groups synergistically, protect the body from injury, and pre-fatigue muscles so that athletes don’t have to add extra stress by increasing workloads. Single joint movements are used to train the weak link in sport movement and identify muscular imbalances. All provide necessary feedback to the strength coach to improve performance and reduce the risk of injury. The body is divided up into five major areas: Neck, Hips and Legs, Mid-Section, Torso, and Arms. Scientific research tells us that each area should be trained every 72-96 hours.

An area that we have had a lot of success with is adding skill development into our strength training workouts. Athletes are required to spend fifteen minutes doing NCAA approved drills in the weight room to improve their skills on the field. For example, we throw tennis balls at our wide receivers. What you do in the weight room needs to make sense to the athlete. They have to know it is going to get them better on the field. This provides another 8-9 months of skill acquisition.

Injuries are a part of the game and they affect your training. Before an athlete leaves the weight room they are required to check out with our athletic trainer for Prehab/Rehab. For our injured athletes they are required to do some additional training to get back to 100%. By requiring athletes to check out with our training staff we have been able to improve communication between our two areas and assist in getting our athletes back to the field quicker.

Strength and conditioning is obviously more than just throwing exercises up on a grease board the day of the workout. You must have a plan and execute it effectively to gain a competitive edge. I have provided a template for you to review and access your current program. When determining volume (sets/reps) each rep should be 6 seconds (Olympic lifts should be 3 seconds). Total body exercises should not exceed 5 reps, multiple joint exercises should be between 3-10 reps, and single joint exercises should be 10-12 repetitions. Remember you must overload the muscle for a neuromuscular adaptation. Access the amount of time you have available after you have made sure to do at least one set per exercise. Take the additional time and place it on high need areas or testable lifts. Remember, success ultimately comes down to coaching, accountability, and effort. Good luck with your training.

Day 1: Lower Body - Power
Stretch
Dynamic Warm Up
Total Body
Squat Assists/MJ Leg
SJ Trap
MJ Shoulder
SJ or MJ Ham Emphasis
SJ or MJ Quad Emphasis
SJ Shoulder
SJ Lower Body Adduction
SJ Lower Body Calf
SJ Bicep
Core
Grip
Neck
Skill Development
Prehab/Rehab

Day 2: Upper Body - Power
Stretch
Dynamic Warm Up
Total Body
Bench Assists/MJ Chest
MJ Back (vertical)
SJ Chest
MJ Back (extra to balance volume)
(Horizontal)
SJ Back
SJ Tricep
Core
Grip
Neck
Skill Development
Prehab/Rehab

Day 3: Lower Body - Strength
Stretch
Dynamic Warm Up
MJ Lower Body
MJ Shoulder
SJ Shoulder (Trap)
SJ or MJ Ham Emphasis
SJ or MJ Quad Emphasis
SJ Lower Body (Abduction)
SJ Lower Body (Calf)
SJ Shoulder (All Three Planes)
SJ Bicep
Core
Grip
Neck
Skill Development
Prehab/Rehab

Day 4: Upper Body – Strength
Stretch
Dynamic Warm Up
MJ Chest
MJ Back (Horizontal)
MJ Back (Vertical)
SJ Chest
SJ Back
SJ Tricep
Core
Grip
Neck
Skill Development
Prehab/Rehab

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