Continued from pg. 11 switch and the second person does the same weight for the same time. We will do three to five sets. By working 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off, we have added a cardio and endurance aspect to the bench press. It's OK if an athlete can't rep it for 30 seconds, as long as he continues to fight to move the weight up. It is a great metaphor for the adversity they face in their lives. Will they give up and let the weight crush them, or will they keep fighting until a teammate or coach steps in to help? Plyometric Circuit: Instead of doing one plyometric exercise at a time, we try to do at least two to minimize wait time. We may set up the plyo boxes on one side of the weight room and the agility ladder on the other. When an athlete finishes one, he goes straight to the next one keeping their heart rate elevated. We may do eight to 10 trips and as the circuit continues, it gradually transitions from an explosive exercise to an endurance exercise. Face Off: Pairs two lifts that work different muscle groups. One of our favorites is the dumbbell curl/press and the weighted front plank. Each athlete has a partner and they are instructed to do three sets of each exercise before they stop. Only one of the exercises is given a rep goal, however. The athlete doing the dumbbell curl/press will be told to do 15 reps while the athlete doing the front plank must stay in the plank position until his partner finishes his set. Then they switch as quickly as possible. Your arms rest when you do planks and your core rests when you do the dumbbell curl/press, but your heart and lungs are working the whole time. Another ancillary benefit to this exercise is that if the kid on the dumbbell curl/press stops to take a break the kid on the front planks has to work longer. It reinforces teamwork and reminds the kids they are working for their teammate not themselves.
Our process starts with making a personal connection with a student. As that relationship is nourished we will start to ask more of the individual in our workouts. As the student begins to accomplish more in the weight room his confidence grows. If we can help teach kids to deal with the pain and exhaustion of an aggressive workout we feel it will also give them the confidence to work through other barriers in their lives. At the very least, when they get home they will be far too tired for mischief.
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY BRADLEY SMITH
Battle Pushups: About every other week we will do nothing but push-ups and we usually do about 300. We have found a way to make this workout competitive and aerobic as well as work several different muscle groups. We have 10 different types of push-ups and we will do them in a specific order. Each athlete will work with a partner. The first person does five of the
first type of pushup followed by his partner doing five of the first type of pushup. Then the first person does five of the second type of pushup and so on. We like to have groups compete against each other to see who can get to 100 first. After 100, we take a short water break and do it again.
okhealthandfitnessmagazine.com
June/July 2013
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