Hello Friends,
Before I do a deep dive into today's topic, I just wanted to remind you all that my new 12-week training programs are officially live.
You can purchase them here:
Definitive Guide To Summer Programming - 12 Weeks to Elite Athleticism
Use code MAY16 for a 10% discount at checkout
These are the same programs that I have used with 1000s of athletes to improve their speed, power, strength & conditioning to help them dominate their sport.
Now let's dive into today's topic:
12 Weeks
90 Days
That's the amount most athletes will have between the school year ending and the beginning of their next competitive season.
There is a lot you can accomplish in the next 90 days to impact your performance on the field, ice, or court.
But you have to have the right plan in place to optimize performance.
Here's how you can do it:
GENERAL THOUGHTS
The summer is one of the best times to improve athletics in the training year
Why?
It is one of our most interrupted training periods, and there aren't as many obligations (school, sport, travel, etc.)
What's even more important?
A strong summer training program will set you up to have a lot of success in the fall
Whether it be for your competitive season
Or for your off-season preseason to prepare you for the winter or spring
It is crucial in the summer to address all the different areas of athleticism
This boils down to 5 key areas of training for my athletes:
1) Speed
2) Power
3) Strength
4) Agility/Braking
5) Aerobic Conditioning
Let's do a deep dive into how you can train each one of those 
1) SPEED
One of the most important aspects of athletic development
We're going to focus on 2 types of speed development:
a) Acceleration (short distance)
b) Max Velocity (longer distance)
Both play a critical role in sports success
a) ACCELERATION
Acceleration dominates in team sports
We are developing 3 key areas of acceleration with our training:
1) Force (Projection)
2) Power (Max Power)
3) Velocity (Top Speed)
Developing each one of these aspects is critical to improving short speed
I use the following programming outline to develop acceleration:
Frequency: 2x/week
Volume: 150-300m
1x/week will get results, but 2x/week has been the sweet spot in developing short speed
These are the best tools to develop acceleration regarding sprinting:
Heavy Resisted Sprints (>50% VDEC)
Moderately Resisted Sprints (30-50% VDEC)
Lightly Resisted Sprints (<30% VDEC)
Unresisted Sprints (0-30m)
Start with heavier resisted sprints over short distances & progress to lighter sprints over longer distances
b) Max Velocity
Top speed is a great indication of overall athleticism
Every athlete of every sport needs to train for max velocity for several reasons:
Stimulus like no other (high motor unit recruitment)
High force output into the ground that can't be matched
Expose the body to high speed which it may encounter during competition
I believe the lack of exposure to top speed is what leads to a lot of posterior chain injuries in competition
I use the following programming outline to develop acceleration:
Frequency: 1x/week
Volume: 200-400m
Max Velocity work can be extremely taxing on the body, so we only need to train it 1x/week
These are the best tools to develop max velocity regarding sprinting:
Flys
In & Outs
Build Ups
Sprint/Floats
Unresisted Sprints (>30m)
Technique is crucial to fully develop max velocity safely, so film your reps and evaluate your technique
2) POWER
I use sprints & lifting as a supplemental tool to develop power with my athletes
But jumping is the main stimulus I prescribe to improve power
The key here is to program jumps in different planes:
1) Vertical
2) Horizontal
3) Lateral
4) Any Non-Linear
I use the following programming outline to develop power with our jumps:
Frequency: 3x/week
Volume: 10-30 contacts
You need at least 10 jumps a workout to improve power output (intensive jumps)
These are the best tools to develop power with jumping:
Weighted Jumps
Unweighted Jumps
Broad Jump Variations
Box Jump Variations
Skater Jumps
Bounding
Pick 1 theme of jumping for a workout & perform it either with your sprints or during your lift
3) STRENGTH
If you want to improve your success in your sport, being strong will help improve your chances
I prescribe lifting for all my athletes to:
Improve early acceleration
Reduce the incidence of injury
Help with the demands of training
Without a proper lifting plan, you have an INCOMPLETE PROGRAM
3) STRENGTH
If you want to improve your success in your sport, being strong will help improve your chances
I prescribe lifting for all my athletes to:
Improve early acceleration
Reduce the incidence of injury
Help with the demands of training
Without a proper lifting plan, you have an INCOMPLETE PROGRAM
I use the following programming outlines to develop our strength in the weight room:
Frequency: 3x/week (Total Body Lift)
Volume: 600-1000 reps
Load: 70-85% of 1 RM
You can use body part splits to develop strength, but total body lifts are what I primarily prescribe for my athletes
These are the best tools to develop strength through lifting:
Back Squat
Front Squat
Power Clean
Power Snatch
Push Jerk
Bench Press
RDL
Back Extension
Olympic lifts & squats are the most crucial to strength development
4) Agility/Braking
Speed is crucial to success in sport
But being able to control that speed is even more important
You must dedicate time to training this quality
There are 5 key movements I focus on with agility training:
1) Side Shuffle
2) Crossover Run
3) Backwards Run
4) Back Pedal
5) Hip Flip
You need to be proficient in each one of these movements to improve your agility.
I use the following programming outlines to develop our agility:
Frequency: 2-3x/week (pre-sprint work)
Then I use the following progressions:
Short distance --> Long Distance
Unloaded --> Loaded
Set Movements --> Reactive Movement
These are the best tools to develop our agility & braking:
Linear Acceleration + Brake
Non-Linear Movement + Accel
Non-Linear Movement + Accel + Brake
Resisted Non-Linear Movement
Assisted Non-Linear Movement
I like to prescribe drills that mimic what the athlete will see during competition
5) AEROBIC CONDITIONING
You need to condition if you want to prepare for the demands of the sport
If you don't condition, you cannot repeat high sprint outputs over long periods
I think aerobic conditioning is the best way to train while still developing speed, strength & power
I use the following programming outlines to develop our conditioning:
Frequency: 2-3x/week (On Low Days)
Volume: 2000-4000m (depending on sport)
If you are playing in the summer, this isn't as necessary
I like to spend the majority of our training in the Zone 2 heart rate zone
These are my favorite tools for conditioning:
Tempo Runs
Run/Walk Zone 2 runs
Moderate/Light Bike Workouts
Contralateral Timed Circuits
Escalating Density Lift Circuits
You can use any of these tools to help further improve your conditioning level
Implement the information above & there is no question you are going to absolutely dominate your summer training.
P.S.
My new 12-Week Programs are officially live.
Instead of figuring out how to put all of these concepts together into 1 program, I did the heavy lifting for you.
All you have to do is buy the program, implement with consistency & effort, and you will become a completely different athlete by summers end.
You can purchase 1 of the 3 different program options here:
Definitive Guide To Summer Programming - 12 Weeks to Elite Athleticism
God Bless You All
Keith Jonathan Ferrara
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