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Explosion is the Name of the Game for November and December

Explosion is the Name of the Game for November and December by William Albritton

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We are a couple weeks into our latest strength and conditioning cycle which will bring us through the end of 2013.

In fear that you missed my last two articles on GPP and our programming, I will reiterate it again. Our #1 priority is always increasing GPP. Our secondary goals will vary from one cycle to the next. And although they vary, each cycle of goals are constantly building on each other. Everything is connected.

Following are two recent articles on the last cycle, goals and GPP:
“What is on Tap for September and October’s Program?”
“Evaluating our Gym’s Results”

November and December’s secondary goals will be:

1. Increasing explosive strength
2. Increase vertical jump using primarily weightlifting
3. Increase 3, 4 & 5RM Back & Front Squat

Explosive strength is the ability to produce maximal force in minimal time. The snatch is an example of an explosive movement — a weight that is relatively heavy and moved super fast. A heavy 1RM deadlift is not explosive. You are moving a lot of weight but think how slow it is. It takes less than a second to snatch. The average deadlift is 4 seconds.

The number of reps you do per set has a direct effect on the specific types of strength you gain. Absolute or raw strength is gained by doing sets of 1 – 3 reps with weights above 90%. Hypertrophy is accomplish with reps of 8 – 15 which increases mass but does little for strength. Body builders are aiming for hypertrophy which is why you see them doing higher reps per set. Explosive strength or power is developed with reps of 3 – 5. Power is a combination of speed and strength.

You will see that we are deadlifting and squatting in reps of  3 – 5. The olympic lifts are inherently an explosive movement so these can be done at lower reps and still increase explosive strength. We will be doing these in the rep range of 1 – 3.

If you get more explosive it only makes sense your vertical jump will increase, right? We are going to test it out and see if your vertical jumps increase by using explosive lifts and little plyometric work like box jumps. I say we are testing it but it has been tested enough in the last several decades that it’s fairly safe to say that your vertical leap is going to increase. That is why it is imperative for basketball players to do explosive lifts like power cleans.

Check out how explosive strength training transfers to other sports: In order to run an 800m in 1 min 45 sec (I know that’s world class but stick with me.), it is necessary to be able to run 10.6 – 10.7 sec in the 100m. In order to run this an athlete must be able to complete 3 consecutive standing long jumps covering a total of 9m or 10 jumps covering 33 – 34m. Most middle distance runners lack sufficient strength to complete the jump or 100m time required to run their goal 800m pace [Siff, Supertraining]. The deficiency can only be made up by a specialized explosive strength programs. What movements would I program? Power snatch, power cleans and push press/jerk.

The typical week will looks as follows:

Monday – heavy squats, conditioning
Tuesday – snatch variation, snatch deadlift, conditioning
Wednesday – press or jerk, conditioning
Thursday – clean & jerk, alactic conditioning (20 – 30 sec efforts)
Friday – dynamic effort or repetition squats
Saturday – deadlift, conditioning

As always, feel free to stop me and ask any questions you have about the programming or movements. Also, we offer one-on-one sessions to work on lifts and skill work. The best part is it’s included in your membership so there is no extra charge. Send us an email to set up an appointment. info@alexandriacrossfit.com.

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