H.S. Athlete Question

[Kevin T.]

Hey guys,

I've been wondering about this lately...

2 totally differents types of training ideas have come to my attention regarding youth/high school athlete. One is weight lifting, supported by many, whether or not they are qualified to support/promote/suggest it.

The 2nd idea came from Craig on this board. I don't know if you guys are familir with his ideas. If not, his "How young atheltes should train" articles are in the Youth Athletic Development section of this board.

So, the question is, which method is more effective and safer for a high school athlete? thanks in advance.

[Doug M.]

thats a good question...id like to no that answer too..i printed out craigs articles last nite and read them...

[DKing]

Where in Craig's articles does it say not to weight train? He talked about proper weight training quite a few times. His articles simply go way more indepth and awesomely into the hows and whys of the program design. Most people here won't blindly tell an athlete (High school or otherwise) to use the same bodybuilding programs that a lot of us use to just stay in shape.

Obviously Craig's approach is going to be far superior than just finding a weight routine because athletic development is based around much more than how much you can bench press and squat.

Danny

[Kevin T.]

i started a previous thread about a month or so ago. Here it is:

Basketball Routine

In his response, Craig said:

Hi Kevin,

I train some elite high school kids and our program is much different than yours. We start each workout with an extensive dynamic warmup.

Ideally, you should find a strength coach in your area to go over a good program and proper exercise form for you.

If your parents have the resources to get you some additional training info, you might want to order the Parisi Dynamic Warm-up video available at www.elitefts.com. Its similar to what we do in our program. I recommend it for all coaches and trainers.

We spend a lot of time on the warmup. It improves the players movement, co-ordination, technique, strength, explosiveness, etc., etc. We follow that with some more advanced drills, and then bodyweight strength stuff. We are just now getting into some weighted exercises.

The results are amazing. The kids are moving better, jumping higher, and performing better in games.

Start with the basics. The lifting routine you posted has a lot of flaws. The exercises are out of order...and the lifting scheme is probably too advanced for you.

Please, you and your parents and coaches should also review the articles by Brian Grasso and myself in the Young Athletes section of this message board, particularly my articles here:

http://forums.jpfitness.com/cgi-bin/...;f=14;t=000081

Craig
www.cbathletics.com

from both this post he gave me the impression that he believed that lifting weights like i was wasn't as safe or as benficial as the dynamic warm-up program he mentioned.

that led to my question:

is his method, the dynamic warmup program more beneficial than just regular weight lifting. and which one is safer?

thanks for all your help guys.

[DKing]

From the sounds of his advice, I don't want to speak for Craig, he was saying that your workout wasn't safe of a good idea. The dynamic warm-up is basically sets of lunges and bodyweight drills to increase flexibility and strengthen the body as a unit. So they are an awesome idea. A traditional bodybuilder split is a bad idea. Plus the lack of periodisation in your workout in terms of motor learning, conditioning and the like is where you are lacking. You are falling short trying to design a whole routine for yourself from a sport specific standpoint. That is why people hire trainers and coaches, because they have the knowledge to design a full routine including dynamic movements and eventually strength training.

Danny

[Craig]

Hello,

Sorry to give you the wrong impression.

We use weight training, and the dynamic warm-up/flexibility portion of the training is just another of the many components of a good program.

One of our main goals is to get stronger. Young, weak athletes will get stronger with bodyweight exercises only. Traditional lifts are added when appropriate (Which may be on day 1, or not for a couple of weeks).

Craig
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, M.Sc.
CB Athletic Consulting, Inc.
www.cbathletics.com
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

[Kevin T.]

ok, thanks for clearing things up. one question left tho: should i still do the basic compound lifts-squats, bench, rows, etc.?

and if so, should i go for a high weight, low rep scheme for strength gain or low weight, high rep scheme for muscle endurance?

thanks for all of your help guys

[Kevin T.]

my doctor told suggested that i do 3 sets of 15. he said that while i'd probably get outmuscled early on in the game, at the end of the game, i'd be physically dominating the other guy.

is this correct? should i focus on muscle endurance? or should i mix it up, like 2 weeks of heavy weight, low rep strength training followed by 2 weeks of lighter weights, higher reps muslce endurance training? then starting over again. i'm leaning toward the latter, mixing the 2 up, but i was wondering what you guys thought.

thanks a lot for all of your help guys.

[Kevin T.]

bump