For athletes, the off-season can make or break your next season. It’s time to gear up for next season! Here are simple, training methods that will help football, rugby, hockey, or lacrosse players get a leg up on the competition.
Make sure to use safe, joint-friendly exercises such as a dumbbell or Swiss Bar bench press. The Swiss bar is used for several pressing and pulling exercises, including the bench press. You can also use high bar back squat, front squat, or trap bar deadlift. Perform 2x weekly for both lower and upper bodies.
If you don’t have access to a gym, use movements at home such as loaded pushups, pull-ups, body rows, and goblet squats. Or use this bodyweight workout. Make progress with what you have access to!
Modified German Volume Training
This is a training style first used by weightlifters moving up a weight class. In German Volume Training, you target one muscle group for 10 sets of 10 repetitions. However, 10 sets right off the bat can be too much to recover from!. In the modified version:
- Work within 50-60% of the main lift
- 2 mins rest between sets
- Start with 5 sets of 10, adding a set each week until you reach 10×10
Eccentric Overload Training
Eccentric overload training is a type of strength training in which we use both the lifting and lowering phases of an exercise. Still, we add load (hence the term “overload”) to the lowering phase, either with weight releasers or flywheel devices. The eccentric part of a movement (lowering the weight) is where your body has the greatest ability to produce force. Think of someone who can’t bench 300 lbs but can take it out of the rack and lower it down to their chest. We can take advantage of this force to spur greater muscle gain!
- Work within 65-75% of the main lift
- 2 mins rest between sets
- 8 reps are performed, with a 6-second lowering portion on each rep; x 5 sets
*eccentric overload can be done even heavier than 75% — but you will need a training partner to help you bring the weight upon each rep!
High-Intensity Drop Sets
Leave no reps in the tank! Using drop sets, you can pump nearly every last possible muscle contraction out of your body.
- Start with 70-80% of the main lift
- Perform 7 reps, then drop 10% of the load, perform another 7, then drop 10% of the load and perform as many reps as possible!
- 2-3mins rest, perform 5 sets.
Build your body up this offseason and put fear into your opponents when they see you step on the field next year!
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For athletes, the off-season can make or break your next season. It’s time to gear up for next season! Here are simple, training methods that will help football, rugby, hockey, or lacrosse players get a leg up on the competition.
Make sure to use safe, joint-friendly exercises such as a dumbbell or Swiss Bar bench press. The Swiss bar is used for several pressing and pulling exercises, including the bench press. You can also use high bar back squat, front squat, or trap bar deadlift. Perform 2x weekly for both lower and upper bodies.
If you don’t have access to a gym, use movements at home such as loaded pushups, pull-ups, body rows, and goblet squats. Or use this bodyweight workout. Make progress with what you have access to!
Modified German Volume Training
This is a training style first used by weightlifters moving up a weight class. In German Volume Training, you target one muscle group for 10 sets of 10 repetitions. However, 10 sets right off the bat can be too much to recover from!. In the modified version:
- Work within 50-60% of the main lift
- 2 mins rest between sets
- Start with 5 sets of 10, adding a set each week until you reach 10×10
Eccentric Overload Training
Eccentric overload training is a type of strength training in which we use both the lifting and lowering phases of an exercise. Still, we add load (hence the term “overload”) to the lowering phase, either with weight releasers or flywheel devices. The eccentric part of a movement (lowering the weight) is where your body has the greatest ability to produce force. Think of someone who can’t bench 300 lbs but can take it out of the rack and lower it down to their chest. We can take advantage of this force to spur greater muscle gain!
- Work within 65-75% of the main lift
- 2 mins rest between sets
- 8 reps are performed, with a 6-second lowering portion on each rep; x 5 sets
*eccentric overload can be done even heavier than 75% — but you will need a training partner to help you bring the weight upon each rep!
High-Intensity Drop Sets
Leave no reps in the tank! Using drop sets, you can pump nearly every last possible muscle contraction out of your body.
- Start with 70-80% of the main lift
- Perform 7 reps, then drop 10% of the load, perform another 7, then drop 10% of the load and perform as many reps as possible!
- 2-3mins rest, perform 5 sets.
Build your body up this offseason and put fear into your opponents when they see you step on the field next year!
Read More:
