Our mailbag is full, so it’s time to go through some listener questions about a variety of topics. On this week’s episode we dive into questions on the planning for truncated seasons, recovery, teaching the Olympic lifts, rest periods in circuit training, who do we want to grab a beer with, and more.
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As the coronavirus pandemic has spread around the globe and forced athletes into quarantine, we’ve put together resources on how you can keep training at home. Over the past few weeks we’ve published 23 new articles, 2 new videos, and 2 new podcasts on the topic from a dozen different contributors. Below are links to all of our new resources, as well as highlights from our archive on the topic. Read more
Circuits are often seen as a tool for beating an athlete down, but when used properly they can be an effective tool for developing specific qualities. As many athletes are now confined to their homes, understanding and utilizing proper circuit construction is more important now than ever. On this week’s GAINcast, Vern dives into circuit training, best practices, and examples of different types of circuit construction. Read more
On this week’s GAINcast we discussed constructing circuits. Below is an example of how we would plan three circuit training days a week for swimmers during a strength endurance phase. Read more
Last week I wrote about programming in the time of coronavirus, with a focus on athletes that had access to at least limited equipment. This week on Instagram I have been posting videos of the general strength circuits I have given athletes that have no training equipment. The objective of each circuit is to cover the lower body, upper body, core, as well as all three planes of movement (sagittal, frontal, and transverse). I learned these from my college coach Glenn McAtee and find them just as useful nearly two decades later. Read more
I still remember the first circuit I ever completed. It was at Baltimore Friends School in what was basically a converted storage closet off the gym that barely fit a universal machine in it. My coach, Gerald Russell, had us either do circuits of 3 sets of 8-12 reps around the universal or a body weight circuit of 3 sets of 8-12 reps. The days we did the body weight circuit were so much tougher. But I still remember the pride I felt when I finally could belt out 3 sets of 12 dips. Read more
Today’s circuit involves one piece of equipment – a medicine ball. If there was one piece of equipment that I would recommend to get through this time, it would be a 3-kilogram medicine ball. Medicine balls are endlessly versatile. Read more
I am hoping to share a daily post on stuff anyone can do anywhere while the pandemic changes our daily life. Before I get into Post #1, let me emphasize that in no way am I trying to trivialize what is happening to any of us. Clearly, athletics should take a back seat to this historic and tragic world health event. That being said, maybe these posts will be a little way to make life better for someone out there who can stay fit. Read more
How you build the foundation is critical to the long-term success of an athlete. Foundational strength is that strength quality that establishes the trainability for all the other strength qualities. On this episode friend Vern Gambetta joins us to discuss the training methods and progressions we use to develop foundational strength. Read more
If you visit Notre Dame High School you will see we are big fans of circuits. Martin and I put together a video on leg circuits last year, and that is just one category of circuits we use. In this article I am going to give you an idea on how I set up and structure circuits we use in training. Read more
