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Strength Report – Maine’s Winter Speed, Strength and Conditioning Program –

by: Dan Nichol
Speed, Strength, and Conditioning Coach, University of Maine
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At the University of Maine, we do not get five-star recruits and it is important that we are innovative in the individualized programs we design for our athletes. Our philosophy is to develop a mentally and physically challenging training environment that will allow athletes to maximize their ability. Our programs are designed to decrease the risk of injury through the teaching of progressive strength and power development exercises that use ground-based, multi-joint and multi-directional movements.
   

We go by the method of “not trying to pound a square peg into a round hole”. Although weight training is a critical part of preparing for the game of football, it is important that we understand we are training athletes to become more efficient in the movements that they perform on the field. For example, if we have an athlete with a long femur and a short torso, we will not front or back squat with him but will utilize a 1-leg bench squat to increase strength in the lower body and minimize the risk of injury to the lower back. Due to the athlete’s biomechanics, there is a greater amount of stress placed on the lower back when performing the squat. Our athletes must be able to perform all exercises with the proper form before a load is applied.
   

We utilize a Functional Movement Screen to identify upper and lower body movement deficiencies. The screen is performed at the start of spring football and at the start of pre-season camp. Athletes will follow a corrective exercise regimen prior to the start of each workout to improve upon deficiencies and clean up motor patterns in both the upper and lower body.
   

The off-season training schedule is divided into post-season, winter break, January training, February training and March training. We begin our post-season training one week after the completion of the football season. The philosophy of our program design is similar to that of building a house. The building of the foundation is performed during December and January training periods. The remainder of the structure is built during the February, March, April and summer training periods.

January Training

   

Our January training begins with an evaluation week of performance tests and body composition. We will evaluate the players in the pro agility, ten yard dash, vertical jump and long jump. Body composition evaluation is made up of a seven-site skin-fold test. The purpose of the evaluation is to establish a baseline measurement where an athlete should see an improvement when they are evaluated again in April.
   

The training objective of January is GPP (General Physical Preparedness). The training is very similar to the winter break program with the addition of running and pushing of sleds. We train four times per week, with three days in the weight room and one training day in our indoor dome. The sled pushing is performed after our higher volume squat day on Mondays. The sled is loaded with a 45-lb. plate and is pushed ten yards and back (20 yards total) for five-seven repetitions. Our dome workout is performed on Thursdays and consists of total body complex movements combined with running one-two gassers. For the complex movements, we use both dumbbells and barbells with no more than 115 pounds. The exercises we utilize are the dumbbell snatch, Romanian dead lift to high pull, squat to press, good morning and row. After an athlete completes ten repetitions of each of these exercises, he sprints one-two gassers. He then goes to the next yard line and performs the next exercise. Athletes are in lines on both sidelines at every five yards with the weight (dumbbell or barbell) and a sheet with the title of the exercise they are to perform. The dome workout routine is performed for two sets with no rest in between on three different training days.

Monday Training - 

•  Explosive movement - triple extension and shrug.

•  Lower body push - squat/front/squat/one-leg bench squat.

•  Pair 1 - vertical push plus vertical pull.

•  Sled push.

•  Shoulder shop (shoulder rehabilitation exercises).

•  Static stretch. 

Tuesday Training 

•  Explosive movement - high pull.

•  Upper body push: - bench press.

•  Pair 1 - Upper body pull plus posterior chain.

•  Tri-set - single leg push plus triceps plus scapula/thoracic.

•  Neck.

•  Static stretch. 

Thursday Training - Dome

•  BB Couples paired up with 1/2 gassers.

•  Volume - 2-3 sets x 10 repetitions of each exercise.

•  Rest - 1 minute.

Exercises:

•  Romanian dead lift to high pull - 115 lbs. - Muscle Snatch - 40-50 lbs.

•  Squat to press - 95 lbs. – Good morning -115 lbs. - Row-115 lbs. 

Friday Training

•  Explosive movement - push press.

•  Pair 1 - single leg push plus vertical pull.

•  Pair 2 - posterior chain circuit plus unstable vertical push.

•  Tri-set - abdominal/low back plus scapula/thoracic plus horizontal pull.

•  Physioball Wall Stretch.

The athlete needs to understand the commitment in preparing their mind and body for each workout. Our workouts are 75 minutes in duration which leaves the athletes with 22 hours and 45 minutes to prepare for the next workout.

Next Month: Part II of Maine’s Winter speed, strength and conditioning report will include
a complete training program for both
February and March.

About the Author:  Dan Nichol is currently in his fourth season as Director of Speed, Strength, and Conditioning at the University of Maine. He previously was the assistant strength coach at Dartmouth College. Nichol is a graduate of Springfield College and has also coached at Tennessee-Martin, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine Maritime Academy, and American International College.  







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