High school strength and conditioning is one of the most dynamic strength and conditioning environments at any level. Most of the time I see my athletes 3-4 times per week for around 30 minutes of actual work. How do we see gains in such limited time?
Quality over Quantity
One of the ways in which we combat this is to preach quality over quantity. I would rather have 3 quality sets over 5 so-so sets. We chart the last set of our top tier exercise of the day, and we make sure our athletes understand what we want to achieve with each set. Our standard rule is that our sets and intensity decrease as we progress down our tiers. An example of this would be – Tier 1 Power Clean 5×3, Tier 2 Front Squat 4×5, DB Bench 3×5. I need them to train really heavy on one lift per day, and this is really all we can get accomplished under the time constraints we have each day.
Super Set
We use the term super set, but not always in the traditional sense of how it is used. We combine movements on tiers. An example would be Tier 1 Power Clean 5×3 + Chin-up 5×10, Tier 2 Front Squat 4×3 + Box Jump 4×5, Tier 3 DB Bench 3×5 + Single Arm Row 3×10. We will do a set of power clean, then a set of chin-ups and repeat. This is one way in which we train work capacity to get a lot accomplished in a short amount of time.
Timer
We also use a interval timer that is placed in the front of our weight room. Our athletes get 10 minutes to complete both movements within each tier. This is a constant reminder to our athletes of where they are and where they need to be. It was during a visit with my good friend Gary Schofield at Greater Atlanta Christian that I realized the timer was well worth the $200 dollar investment. It gives my athletes something tangible to help them achieve the pace they need.
Be a Coach!
Ultimately, you dictate your pace within the environment of your weight room. None of this works if I am sitting in my office and not coaching my kids. They are high school kids, and they need your energy and enthusiasm on the floor in order to help them be the best they can be every day. The high school athlete is torn in many directions, and we need to be the calming influence for them each day that is pointing them in the correct direction. It can be a thankless job at times, but we have more contact and influence than we will ever truly understand. The longer I do this the more I am convinced of this.
Feel free to contact me at fred.eaves@mybga.org if I can be of any help.