12 SIMPLE KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL STRENGTH PROGRAM

1.Never sacrifice form for heavy weight.
2. Start at the hip and workout everyday in the weight room.
3. Train in the weight room to be fast on the field. (Ground based movements)
4. Train fast twitch muscle fibers using triple extension of the ankle, knee and hip. (Olympic movements)
5. Work opposite muscle groups equally. For every push (bench press) do a pull (pull-ups). For every set of a quad exercise (front squats), do a hamstring exercise (RDL)
6. Have a strategic plan that will allow athletes to get stronger and to add lean muscle mass. (A periodization that implements progressive overload)
7. Train movement patterns, not just muscles (push, pull, rotate, lunge, and squat)
8. Explain your theory, mission and philosophy to your athletes so they will “buy in” to the program.
9. Train muscles with the “Time Under Tension” theory. Try a 3 second negative (down) and a 1 second concentric (up) and work it through the full range of motion.
10. Train unilateral exercises (single arm, single leg movements)
11. Use a pre and post test evaluation for your athletes to show marked improvements in strength and power gains.
12. Set Performance Goals for each athlete and help them to reach those goals by breaking down barriers.
By: Clif Marshall MA, CSCS,